Planten, vogels en pepervelden 1682 - 1733

Curator: What strikes you first about this remarkable piece? To me, the fine detail just sings. Editor: Intricate and... strangely melancholic, would you agree? Despite all the life depicted. Like peering into a lost, miniature world. Curator: Lost, perhaps in the sense that it is another time and another view. It’s called "Planten, vogels en pepervelden," meaning "Plants, Birds, and Pepper Fields," an engraving dating back to the late 17th, early 18th century, from the hand of Romeyn de Hooghe. You can find it housed here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: The juxtaposition is immediate; idealized nature meets the rather more transactional world of commerce. Birds of paradise alongside those pepper fields. A king receiving tribute and a sense of nature’s abundance just beyond reach. Curator: He cleverly uses the imagery of both. The indigenous figures are somewhat idealized as well. Though clearly there is tribute taking place! Look how carefully de Hooghe renders each individual plant, the feathery details of the birds. Editor: Those birds! Such exotic emblems, especially to European eyes of the time. Do you think he understood the real landscapes he portrayed or was he composing more from travelers’ tales and his own imaginings? Curator: I'd argue it’s a bit of both, blending observation and allegory. Remember, this period was defined by both exploration and exploitation, an impulse to scientifically document the world alongside one to possess it. That duality is at the heart of the piece, I feel. Editor: It certainly feels caught between wonder and… a calculating gaze. But even that contrast offers an unsettling beauty, wouldn't you say? Something haunting. Curator: Haunting indeed! A beautiful melancholy to a vision of what was. I'm glad you pointed that out.