Busteportret van Anna van Denemarken, koningin van Engeland 1617

Editor: Here we have a 1617 engraving by Simon van de Passe: *Busteportret van Anna van Denemarken, koningin van Engeland*. It feels so formal, almost like a mask, with all that elaborate lace. How would you interpret this work? Curator: The image operates on so many symbolic registers! Look closely: the inscription frames her, proclaiming her titles, solidifying her identity within a matrix of power and lineage. Do you notice how the symbols—the crowns woven into her hair, the density of jewels— speak to more than just wealth? Editor: Yes, definitely. It’s a statement. Curator: Exactly! But what kind of statement? Consider the context: Anna of Denmark, a powerful woman in a patriarchal society, wife of King James I. The imagery presents her as the ideal queen: pious, fertile, and of noble birth – virtues amplified and visually reinforced. This iconography was political messaging, constructing a carefully managed image. And that poem at the bottom? Editor: Yes, I was wondering about that...It's kind of elaborate, even for the time. Curator: Indeed. “A threefolde OVEENE, a threefolde CHRISTI-ANNE" It directly reinforces those coded symbols in the portrait. So, the poem and image work together as a cohesive cultural construct – reinforcing dynastic stability and divine right through the queen's carefully crafted persona. How does that resonate with your initial feeling of a "mask"? Editor: I see your point! I still sense the formality, but now it seems less about hiding and more about actively building up this very specific image of royalty. It's like visual PR. Curator: Precisely. We've journeyed from initial impressions of surface appearances to deciphering layers of symbolic communication and understanding the forces shaping her image, which is the purpose of icons.