Heilige Peesius en Heilige Jesaja after 1636

Curator: Up next, we have "Heilige Peesius en Heilige Jesaja," or "Saints Peesius and Isaiah," an etching crafted after 1636 by Frederick Bloemaert. What do you think of this piece? Editor: There’s a real intimacy to it, isn't there? The way the figures are huddled together, sharing a book, it evokes a sense of quiet contemplation, despite being, essentially, an illustration. Curator: Indeed. It’s part of a larger series of prints depicting various saints and religious figures, intended for devotional use, and carries those typical Baroque sensibilities. Notice the dynamic composition, the focus on emotion, and, well, those expressive faces. Editor: The beards are wonderful! I’m immediately drawn to all the visual anchors that communicate so much character. Peesius, the fellow with the pointy hat, he seems the more engaged of the two; pointing with certainty. And then you see Isaiah, youthful and attentive, perhaps learning from the other. Curator: It’s the gaze that does it. Their shared focus on the text signifies the importance of scripture, that direct access to knowledge. We have here that element of scholarship but also community—learning and interpreting together. Even the setting – the hint of the outside world – feels so meaningful, as if wisdom isn’t meant for enclosed places only. Editor: Oh, absolutely. The architecture frames them beautifully, doesn’t it? Like figures in a niche. That deliberate arrangement highlights their importance within this narrative. The book resting in the foreground feels like a foundation; it speaks volumes—pardon the pun—about the significance of text in the transmission of wisdom. It is as if they were on a stage together. The print makes it palpable that knowledge is a performed action. Curator: But this etching, for all its delicate lines and details, speaks of that tradition, as an active conversation. An echo across time, in the figures themselves, or how we approach the book today. Editor: Looking at this today, I feel the image is really speaking across eras, from Frederick Bloemaert to us, asking us to partake in our shared quest for wisdom and faith.