Aankomst van de vloot bij Goleta 1574 - 1578

Editor: Here we have "Arrival of the Fleet at Goleta," an engraving created between 1574 and 1578 by Frans Hogenberg, housed right here at the Rijksmuseum. It's packed with so many tiny figures and ships. It almost feels like a sprawling historical movie scene captured in print. What strikes you most about this piece? Curator: Ah, yes, it’s a world in a window, isn’t it? For me, it’s the energy. Even though it's a static image, you can almost hear the shouts, the creaking of the ships, and sense the anticipation hanging in the air. Hogenberg has this incredible skill of compressing vast events into this single plane. And notice how he's elevated the viewpoint? What do you think that does to the story? Editor: It definitely gives a sense of scale and maybe emphasizes the importance of the event by showing its overall scope? Curator: Precisely! Like a bird's-eye view onto a critical moment in history. Consider, too, the baroque influence; all that detail vying for your attention reflects the baroque desire to overwhelm the senses. It pulls you in; you get lost in it, right? You can almost taste the salt in the air and hear the clash of empires. I like that, the idea of sensory overload. It mirrors how the protagonists would have lived this story, overwhelmed and excited. Don't you think so? Editor: Yeah, I do see what you mean, about being dropped in the middle of it. It's really incredible how much information he managed to include in one print! I'll never look at prints the same way again! Curator: It is pretty spectacular isn’t it? Every time, I always see more in this artwork. And that's the wonderful thing with these types of historical baroque prints; they offer new things to learn.