Paar op een bordes, gekleed volgens de mode van 1680-'90 1680 - 1724

Curator: Standing here, I’m struck by the theatricality of this engraving. It’s entitled "Paar op een bordes, gekleed volgens de mode van 1680-'90," or "Couple on a platform, dressed in the fashion of 1680-90." Editor: Absolutely. My first impression is drama, but a kind of stylized, almost… melancholic drama. They're so meticulously dressed; it's a world of lace and powdered wigs, but their faces hint at something more going on beneath the surface. Curator: It was created by Jacob Gole, somewhere between 1680 and 1724. The medium is engraving, which was, of course, a very popular method for disseminating images widely at the time. This work captures the fashion and social attitudes of the late 17th century with remarkable precision. Editor: You can practically feel the stiffness of their clothes, the weight of societal expectation. Look at the woman’s pose; the sheet music she holds seems more like a prop than something she actually sings. Is she singing for joy or keeping up appearances? What songs would this fashionably overdressed lady sing anyway? Curator: I think that observation leads us to the complicated place of women within such visual structures: they serve primarily as decoration, though their representation here might critique such an ideology of luxury. Think how portraits were often commissioned not as simple mementos but also political statements, solidifying status. Editor: And how confining! Look at her veil, like a stylish cage! This portrait does seem a rather sober advertisement of finery. It’s really a reminder that portraits were, and perhaps always are, careful performances. Everyone involved seems painfully aware of the gazes they solicit. I can imagine what the price was to hold your sword as flawlessly as he does. Curator: Indeed. Engravings like these allowed access, albeit mediated, to a lifestyle largely out of reach for most. What stories were created as these prints made their way from the hands of elites to those of the growing middle classes? It speaks volumes to art's powerful influence in shaping our perception of the past and, by extension, ourselves. Editor: Yes, in the play of appearances and underlying emotions that Jacob Gole immortalizes in this detailed engraving. There’s something so revealing and hidden about this encounter. We see it all, but in a whisper.