Illustration til Adam Olearius, “Persianischer Rosenthal von einem Sinnreichen Poeten Schich Saadi […]”, Schleswig 1660 1660

Curator: This print, made around 1660, is entitled "Illustration til Adam Olearius, \u201cPersianischer Rosenthal von einem Sinnreichen Poeten Schich Saadi [\u2026]\u201d." It was created by Christian Rothgiesser as an illustration for a book of Persian poetry translated into German. It resides here at the SMK, the National Gallery of Denmark. Editor: What strikes me immediately is the rather peculiar, unsettling atmosphere. A naked man, seemingly besieged by dogs in what appears to be a formal garden. The rigid architecture contrasts so strongly with the organic frenzy in the foreground. Curator: Absolutely. Rothgiesser, as an illustrator, was likely responding to specific passages within Saadi's poetry. This image is illustrative of the cultural exchange that was unfolding at the time; where translated texts led to artists imagining foreign customs, architecture, and landscapes, even if these images remained partly fanciful. We have an identifiable print used within bookmaking—a commercial object in itself—making these translated tales available to the literate public of 17th century Europe. Editor: Considering it's an engraving, look at the labour involved in creating this level of detail, all those etched lines forming tone and texture! And the consumption of this imagery... these exotic scenes entering domestic life via the printed book, bringing a piece of Persia to Schleswig! The work certainly plays on early modern Europe's fascination with the 'Orient', filtered and, possibly distorted, through translation and artistic license. Curator: It highlights the mechanics of cultural interpretation doesn’t it? What are we truly seeing? Persian poetry filtered through a German lens, re-imagined and disseminated through printmaking... And note the institutional context here; the piece forms part of a larger collection of prints and drawings at the Statens Museum for Kunst, demonstrating the institution's own role in preserving and exhibiting historical cultural encounters. Editor: So true, what this drawing gives us is more than the subject matter. What really jumps out for me is the reminder that images, even seemingly simple ones, carry a lot of complex social and material meaning. Curator: It's the nature of visual culture, really—art embedded within social contexts of consumption and reception. A far cry from an unbiased interpretation. Editor: Exactly! And I think thinking about this picture as both a response to a particular place in time, as well as the labour it took to produce helps connect with it on a richer, more human level.