Mallabaarse officier en ruiter Possibly 1779 - 1788

Editor: This is “Mallabaarse officier en ruiter,” possibly from between 1779 and 1788, a watercolor and ink drawing by Jan Brandes. I am immediately struck by the way the officers are depicted, with almost an equal emphasis on the horse as on the rider, so what's your take on this from a broader historical context? Curator: What jumps out at me is the immediate question of whose gaze is at play here. These “Mallebarse” officers are rendered in the style of European military portraiture. This piece visualizes power dynamics inherent in colonial encounters and challenges us to unpack the complex layers of representation at work, but what about the social and economic history? Editor: Can you expand on that? I mean, what can we say about the people shown? Curator: It makes you think about the roles individuals occupied in relation to the Dutch East India Company in the eighteenth century. What does it mean for a ‘Mallebarse’ officer, from the Malabar coast of India, to be depicted in this manner? We need to reflect upon what is being documented and whose perspective we see. The very act of documentation then becomes a powerful statement about who controls the narrative, doesn't it? Editor: Yes, and it also brings to the front questions about the way in which history has been, and is still, being presented. This drawing really brings into view not only the style of portraiture but also the identity and possible place in society of the sitters. Curator: Exactly. It asks us to be critical about not only the aesthetic qualities of the artwork but to question the social structures and power relations that have produced it, especially when observing cultural exchanges, something we should all consider as vital to understanding our contemporary social narratives too.