Portret van George William, Herzog von Liegnitz 1684 - 1729

Editor: So, this is "Portret van George William, Herzog von Liegnitz," made between 1684 and 1729 by Johann Tscherning. It's a print, an engraving, currently held at the Rijksmuseum. My first thought is just how ornamental everything is, and how it creates such a formal mood. How do you read this piece? Curator: Primarily, I'm drawn to the composition. Observe the sharp contrast of textures—the soft rendering of the ermine cloak against the hard, linear precision in the architectural elements. And how the draped fabric above frames the subject, while echoing his relaxed yet assured posture. Do you see how the gaze of the subject meets the viewer, creating an immediate connection despite the distance of time? Editor: I do, but I also see the throne he’s sitting on with these… are those lion heads? They seem so out of proportion! Curator: Consider then how the engraver uses this deliberate distortion. The disproportion serves not to mimic reality, but to heighten the sense of power and spectacle. The lion heads, grotesque in form, act as symbolic guardians, reinforcing the Duke's status. They draw our eye, create a certain tension and prevent us from perceiving this as a conventional portrayal of authority. Editor: So it’s less about an exact representation and more about what the artist is trying to communicate through these exaggerations? Curator: Precisely! It is the visual relationships, not realistic depiction, that generate the artwork's intrinsic value. It directs us away from questions about resemblance, and towards considerations of its structure and design. Editor: I never thought of it that way! Looking closer, I see how every detail contributes to a unified, symbolic whole, from the angle of his gaze to those almost comical lion heads. It seems like a visual puzzle, waiting to be decoded. Curator: Exactly, and it's the decoding that allows us to see its purpose and appreciate the complexities of art making.