Elft, steur, spiering en een haring 1600 - 1638

Curator: Right now, we’re looking at "Elft, steur, spiering en een haring," a print made sometime between 1600 and 1638 by Pierre Firens. Editor: Well, immediately what strikes me is the precise rendering of each fish. The textures, the scale patterns... everything is meticulously rendered, it almost feels scientific in its approach. Curator: Indeed! Firens worked during a period of expanding global trade, when documenting the natural world became increasingly important. These kinds of prints were often made for scientific illustration as well as for broader public consumption, highlighting newly discovered or commercially important species. Editor: It's the composition that grabs me; these different specimens are layered quite skillfully, with varying sizes offering depth on a very flat picture plane. There is the looming shadow implied beneath each too... It gives them a three-dimensionality that counters the flatness. Curator: You are correct, it seems realism takes a front seat here, consistent with artistic developments within the Dutch Golden Age. The Dutch Republic was becoming a major center for trade in fish like herring, reflected, perhaps, in their accurate portrayal here. It elevates commercial items into subjects worthy of artistic study. Editor: Looking again, it also plays on the light, with engraver capturing so many textures. You see the light catching scales or shining in the wetness of the skin. The details create distinct personalities, each species has its moment, which feels Baroque but then I remember we are not in Italy! Curator: The inscription alongside the fish reinforces its informative purpose but considering the expense required to create the print, we should not discount it’s place within the market. I am particularly struck by the cultural meanings a sturgeon may possess. A species which would only be served for special feasts to symbolize luxury for the new burgoise of Amsterdam. Editor: What a way to record social customs using the textures of this medium! In the end it becomes, simply, more than the sum of its engraved parts.