Portret van Pieter Steijn 1783 - 1795

Editor: This is Reinier Vinkeles' "Portrait of Pieter Steijn," created sometime between 1783 and 1795. It's an engraving, and it's got this wonderful old print feeling. It reminds me a bit of currency or stamps because of the precise lines and ornate details. What do you see in this piece? Curator: You know, I love that association with currency, there is something very enduring about this. It whispers of powdered wigs and philosophical debates in smoky drawing-rooms. What strikes me most is the artist's restraint. It’s a portrait but also a very carefully constructed image; there are hard angles juxtaposed with this ornate wreath. You get the impression that even portraiture, a very personal thing, was dictated by these formal codes of representation. It's so poised! What do you think about that rigidity? Editor: I hadn’t thought about that – that's a great way to describe it, "rigid." Almost like the rules for portraits at that time outweighed expressing something more genuine about the person. I guess I assumed he just had to sit like that! Curator: Perhaps so! But Vinkeles is capturing more than likeness. The very medium, engraving, speaks of meticulousness, of a desire for control and permanence, which are ideals the subject perhaps embodied or, at least, aspired to! These clean, unwavering lines that attempt to hold onto some type of ideal. Isn’t that just fascinating? Editor: It really is. Seeing it as an ideal or aspiration makes me look at it differently. I was just taking it at face value before. Curator: And now? What will you carry with you from it? Editor: Well, now I see not just a face, but a story of a person shaped by – and maybe pushing back against – the artistic conventions of their time. It's pretty cool. Curator: Beautifully said!