Mr. B. doet Pamela een aanzoek 1745

Editor: So, here we have Louis Truchy's engraving, "Mr. B. doet Pamela een aanzoek," created around 1745. It's housed at the Rijksmuseum. Looking at it, there's definitely a theatrical quality – the staging, the way the figures are posed... It feels like a captured moment from a play. What story do you see unfolding here? Curator: Oh, drama, darling! I see a morality play unfolding, captured in ink. The clandestine meeting, the fleeing chaperone glimpsed through the window… it’s all delicious! Think of the juicy gossip that would’ve surrounded such a scene back then. Truchy, bless his heart, gives us the ‘before’ of a scandal. But look at the light, almost harsh, on Pamela, while Mr. B lurks in shadow, ever so slightly. Makes you wonder about their true intentions, doesn’t it? Almost feels like a stage set for a dark seduction. Editor: A morality play… I hadn't thought of it that way, but that tension between light and shadow is fascinating. Do you think Truchy is judging Mr. B? Curator: Judging? Perhaps not overtly, darling. Artists, especially engravers in those days, often relied on the patronage of the very wealthy – some probably as bad or even worse! But look closer. The discarded garment on the floor—her modesty, literally cast aside. It isn’t judgement; it is simply a tale of caution, a whisper about societal norms teetering on the edge of transgression, all etched onto paper. And that shadow could symbolize Mr. B’s clouded soul. Subtlety, darling, is key. Editor: That is definitely thought provoking and I see more of the picture’s complexity, especially now you have offered new lenses for interpretation. Thanks. Curator: My pleasure. Each viewing is another act.