Portretten van de courtisanes genaamd Schone Elsje en Schone Hester 1635

Curator: These women…look at the steady gazes. Despite being labelled “courtesans,” do you see a hint of defiance? A resistance to being simply defined by their profession? Editor: Here we have a print from 1635, “Portraits of the Courtesans called Schone Elsje and Schone Hester” by Crispijn van de Passe. They are both presented in ovals, each with an ornate collar and similar features. I’m curious about how women are presented to us. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see layers of coded meaning, especially concerning the visual vocabulary surrounding women, transgression, and social commentary. The baroque style, with its characteristic ornamentation, often served to either glorify or subtly critique the subject. It almost reads like an emblem; it visually instructs the viewer. Editor: An emblem? In what way? Curator: In their time, these images acted as morality plays. Consider the exaggerated ruffs, and how they encircle but also constrain, like a fashionable cage. Editor: So you are seeing those collars less as decoration, but more as constricting visual symbols of their role. Curator: Precisely! Symbols can carry such weight and be interpreted so divergently. They remind us that interpretation is active, social. The artist, viewer, and subject are bound within this cultural moment. We should consider if it’s mocking, titillating, warning? Or perhaps doing several of these at once! Editor: Thinking about visual cues as codes has helped reveal layers that I previously missed. There is definitely much more here than meets the eye. Curator: Indeed. I find their ability to transcend those simple labels exciting.