Lente in gedaante van kind met mand met bloemen in landschap in ovaal 1648 - 1664

Curator: Cornelis van Dalen the Younger brings us "Spring in the Guise of a Child with a Basket of Flowers in a Landscape in Oval", created between 1648 and 1664. Editor: The oval frame really softens it. And I’m immediately struck by the contrast between the carefully rendered, idealized child and that rustic, woven basket overflowing with blooms. It's a juxtaposition, isn't it? Curator: Absolutely. The image layers symbolic weight. Spring, personified by the child, represents not just the season but rebirth and renewal. Children themselves have always held symbolic value of promise, particularly within baroque-era sensibilities. The landscape backdrop supports this reading. Editor: Let’s consider van Dalen’s technique, too. As an engraving, the density of those lines really dictate the tonal range. The physicality of scoring those lines into the metal plate and the multiple runs that might be required in the press is very deliberate, almost like planting seeds row by row, not that different from how the flowers ended up arranged in the basket. Curator: It's also intriguing how van Dalen visualizes ‘spring’ at this cultural moment, isn’t it? It's a moment where nature itself takes on political and cultural significance. Think of royal gardens designed to communicate power; allegorical prints like this use those same cues of cultivated, bountiful nature. The figure offers blooms. It’s less about individual portraiture and more about embodying concepts. Editor: Right. Though this engraving wasn't originally for book illustration, its purpose lies, at least in part, in making allegorical ideas available to a wider consuming public than could access courtly visual spectacles directly. What gets depicted, and who can access it… Curator: In that way, seeing it here at the Rijksmuseum feels… apt. The layers of symbolism embedded by van Dalen echo across generations. Editor: The basket itself feels like a loaded signifier. We see evidence here that Spring itself may well involve both gathering and display!