Portret van David Gottfried Schwertner 1734

Editor: This is "Portret van David Gottfried Schwertner," an engraving made in 1734 by Johann Tscherning, currently held in the Rijksmuseum. It feels very…official. Stern, even. That oval frame, the precise lines… it's impressive, but what more can you say about it? What do you see in it? Curator: I see a window into a world where identity was carefully constructed and presented. Look at the *line* of it all—that almost painfully meticulous detailing! But then let your gaze soften, blur your vision a little...doesn’t the sitter's gaze hold something unexpected? Something almost vulnerable? I wonder what stories were held in confidence within his world... Does it evoke that feeling for you as well? Editor: Vulnerable? I hadn’t thought of that. I was so caught up in the… Baroque-ness, I guess. It's interesting that you focus on vulnerability! Maybe it's his eyes, but they really do look softer now that I think about it. What are we looking at beneath that seriousness? Curator: Exactly! This print isn't just about status, though of course, the trappings of power and respect are certainly there. It’s about capturing a presence, about the dialogue between public persona and inner life. The choice of an engraving adds an extra layer, I believe. Tscherning uses the medium, usually designed to exactly repeat images en masse, to capture a moment of deeply individual being. So do you still think this feels stiff, or could it be seen as more profound and nuanced in your mind? Editor: I'm definitely reconsidering it now. It's funny, you look past the obvious symbols of power and, well, there he is, staring back at us. Thanks to this conversation, I'll see the person hiding beneath what at first sight appeared just a rigid Baroque official image. Curator: Exactly, our perception is just that, OURS, in each viewing it is ever-changing!