Erepoort opgericht bij de Loosduinse Brug te Den Haag, 1691 1691

Editor: So, here we have Pieter Pickaert’s engraving, "Erepoort opgericht bij de Loosduinse Brug te Den Haag, 1691," made in 1691. It depicts a celebratory archway. The scene is bustling, yet it feels somewhat…staged, wouldn’t you say? What's your take? Curator: Staged indeed, darling! Think of it as street theatre captured in ink. This isn’t just any arch; it's a fleeting monument erected for a specific occasion – likely a visit from an important dignitary, somebody deserving all of this over-the-top fanfare. Editor: An event, almost like a screenshot from a baroque film? The arch dominating the image provides depth. What grabs me, though, are the windmills almost poking into the sky, contrasting the manufactured celebratory moment with the everyday. Curator: Precisely! And note the technique – the meticulous lines creating this vibrancy, the conscious decision to merge the urban and the rural, wouldn't you agree that Pickaert uses them both as actors within this print? Editor: I didn’t think of it that way, but I completely agree now. So it is less a depiction of the actual, literal city than an expression of a cultural and maybe political environment. Curator: See? The city *is* the theatre! These aren’t just lines on paper, it is something really ephemeral, really lively happening here. Editor: So cool! Curator: Absolutely. It's all so deeply alive!