Cottage and boundary post on the Spaarndammerdijk ('L'Obelisque') c. 1650

Editor: Here we have Rembrandt van Rijn's etching, "Cottage and boundary post on the Spaarndammerdijk ('L'Obelisque')”, made around 1650. It’s currently housed in the Rijksmuseum. It feels so intimate and humble to me. I’m particularly drawn to the contrast between the imposing obelisk and the humble cottage. What are your thoughts? What do you see in this piece? Curator: That contrast is exactly what makes this print sing! It's Rembrandt at his most reflective, isn't it? He captures the grand – the obelisk, probably a boundary marker, hinting at larger forces, perhaps of trade and governance – right beside the simple, grounded life of the cottage. I almost feel the quiet rhythm of everyday existence juxtaposed with, well, a silent monolith, a stoic sentinel to the world. Editor: A sentinel! I love that description! Curator: And consider this: it’s an etching, meaning it's all lines and shading. No colors, just this interplay of light and dark that somehow creates…atmosphere, almost tangible. The air feels heavy, somehow. And tell me, what do you feel about the landscape itself? Does it give you a particular sensation, maybe the solitude or perhaps the quiet, rural vibe? Editor: Yes, definitely solitude. And it's… unfinished somehow, open ended. Like a dream half remembered. Curator: Exactly! And maybe, Rembrandt’s inviting us into that very dream. He's reminding us that grandeur and simplicity, the obelisk and the cottage, the tangible and intangible, exist side-by-side, always. I always find his work just humbles me and makes me think… Editor: I definitely agree. I had not seen it that way, the obelisk as a ‘stoic sentinel’. I also love that he creates this rural and quiet vibe despite only using black and white! It's really insightful; it opens a new door to look at landscapes more metaphorically. Curator: Precisely. Art holds up a mirror, reflecting ourselves through brushstrokes or, in this case, through delicate lines of thought, carefully etched onto a copper plate, like the very etching we are admiring right now.