Samenstelling van drie gezichten en de kop van een ram 1590 - 1660

Editor: Here we have "Samenstelling van drie gezichten en de kop van een ram," or "Composition of Three Faces and a Ram's Head," an engraving from between 1590 and 1660, housed here at the Rijksmuseum. It's…unusual, almost grotesque in its construction of faces and animal parts. What is your take on this piece? Curator: The appeal lies in its production. As an engraving, this work is part of a print culture. What material processes shaped its accessibility, and who was its target audience? We should investigate the economic structure of artistic dissemination during this period. Consider the engraver’s workshop – the labour involved. Was it a single artist, or a collaborative process, and how does that influence the artwork’s status? Editor: So you’re less focused on the aesthetics and more on the socio-economic conditions that produced it? Curator: Precisely! Think about the availability of copper plates, the skills of the engraver – these weren't simply artistic decisions, they were constrained and enabled by material realities. The very lines on the page are a product of tools, skill, and a system of production. Also, does the grotesque imagery comment on societal values or consumption habits? Is there a material or resource that the ram's head represents and could be associated to luxury, trade or industry? Editor: That's a really different way to look at it! It makes me think about the original purpose of this print – was it meant to be satirical, or simply decorative, and for whom? Curator: Exactly! These questions push us beyond simply admiring its lines. They force us to confront the messy, material conditions from which all art emerges. Editor: This has completely shifted my perspective on how to analyze art. Curator: Good! Because without an understanding of production, consumption and labour we only get half the picture.