Portret van Nicholas Lanier 1630 - 1674

Curator: Look at this striking print, "Portret van Nicholas Lanier," a work from sometime between 1630 and 1674, now residing here at the Rijksmuseum. It’s an engraving attributed to Lucas Vorsterman I. Editor: My first thought? There's such delicate detail and intensity. It almost feels like he’s right here, about to share some sly secret. But the formality feels cold somehow, distant. Curator: Vorsterman captured Lanier's essence as a musician and art connoisseur. You can practically smell the ink; the craftsmanship of this print is remarkable, really highlighting the importance of skilled artisans and their labor in the period. And you have to remember the patronage system at the time. The print itself speaks to power and prestige, both for Lanier and for Vorsterman. Editor: I hear you. Yet, the portrait feels like more than just a document of social status. The line work and shading—it breathes life. There’s almost a melancholy to his eyes, a weightiness. Perhaps capturing not just the “what” but the “who.” Curator: I wonder about the copperplate, the tools, the inks—the real substance and economy of printmaking back then. And what sort of press printed the finished work? Also how this was distributed, bought and sold. Consider the materials – the rags used for the paper and their relationship to the textile mills. Each carries its own narrative. Editor: You’re making me think about Vorsterman’s hand in all of this, right? Because each stroke tells a bit of Vorsterman’s own story, almost like a collaboration. We've really explored both sides: the weight of society in materials and meaning in feeling, hasn’t it?