Vernuft en de boetvaardige mens 1546 - 1562

Curator: Frans Huys created this engraving, "Vernuft en de boetvaardige mens," sometime between 1546 and 1562. It currently resides in the Rijksmuseum. My initial assessment is of two separate realms joined as one. What do you notice? Editor: It feels stark and incredibly purposeful. The figures are etched with such precise, clean lines—almost clinical. But then the torch she's carrying is surrounded by radiant light! What are we meant to make of it? Curator: The engraving technique itself, the linear hatching and cross-hatching, contribute to this sense of starkness and control, typical of the Northern Renaissance printmaking. It speaks to the artist’s labor and intention in disseminating these allegorical concepts to a wider audience. It blends the tradition of allegory and also that of history-painting, at a very interesting transitional moment in terms of style. Editor: I can see the "history" element. The supplicant in prayer really draws the eye. Tell me more about that light! Is she offering that? Rejecting it? Curator: That's Vernuft or Ingenuity and there she stands on the cusp, almost blindfolded, stumbling perhaps over a prone figure while a man prays seeking divine favor. I read it as a statement about human reason and religious faith – their uneasy, perhaps inherently flawed, interaction. It's a statement about materials, and how through process such as this an idea comes to have a material effect. Editor: Uneasy, definitely. Maybe like that time I tried to build IKEA furniture after only reading half the instructions. Disaster! It is an invitation to look harder, but is this tension ultimately...hopeful? I hope so. Curator: Considering the labor-intensive and thoughtful approach typical of printmaking from this period, that kind of hope probably motivated Huys and certainly the buying audience. The distribution itself suggests as much. Thank you for sharing the thought! Editor: Thank you, that's fascinating. Makes you want to buy some glue sticks and learn how to do engraving yourself, no?