Titelprent voor 'Het tooneel der vorstelycke gunstelingen' van Lambert van den Bos 1676

Editor: So, this is the frontispiece to "Het tooneel der vorstelycke gunstelingen," or "The Stage of Princely Favourites," by Romeyn de Hooghe from 1676. It's an etching and engraving. The overall impression is just…intense! I'm struck by how brutally allegorical it is. What do you make of it? Curator: Brutal is a good word for it, yes. But have you ever thought about brutality and Baroque in the same thought, as twins born out of an awareness that everything beautiful is, in fact, destined to wither? And favour—especially princely favour—even faster than a rose? Consider the central figure, blindfolded, yet her hand rests upon what seems to be a limp lion. Justice, perhaps, turning a blind eye as power, symbolized by the lion, is cut down? It's dramatic, isn't it? Look up to the figures at the top…how do they relate, do you think, to this central scene? Editor: Right, I see, there’s a theatrical presentation of royalty at the top and people literally getting axed down below. Is this some kind of commentary on the dangers of being a favourite? The figures behind the blindfolded lady with the axes look like they are about to do harm to someone or something... Curator: Precisely. These are images about the fickleness of fate and the treachery of those close to power. De Hooghe has this talent for mixing commentary with pure theatre, and that’s why these prints still sizzle across time, right? Don’t they just have a way of burrowing deep into your brain? The theatrical staged scene juxtaposes so dramatically with the prison in the background, the people in the forefround...the whole work just seems riddled with contrasting signs and signifiers. It's as though the very air is thick with the screams of failed ambition! Editor: This makes the work seem so much deeper, and also very paranoid. The personal consequences are very tangible. I definitely wouldn't want to be a "princely favourite" during this period! Curator: Agreed. Power and fame, yes, but a steady existence? Not in this universe!