Portret van Justus van Effen 1716 - 1761

Curator: Before us is a print from between 1716 and 1761 by Pieter Tanjé titled "Portret van Justus van Effen." It's currently held in the Rijksmuseum. Editor: It's arresting! A formal portrait, but the lines seem almost… nervous? An anxious quality in the subject's gaze and the agitated linework in the surrounding greenery. Curator: Indeed. Consider how the subject’s dress reflects a rigid social hierarchy while Tanjé uses the engraving medium to portray an upwardly mobile professional. The fine lines used here emphasize minute details, almost scientific in their rendering of fabric and texture. Editor: The landscape background feels perfunctory but provides a nice contrast against the meticulously rendered waistcoat and the subject’s powdered wig. Note how his face, while individualized, still conforms to the idealized portraiture conventions. The formal gaze tells of both presence and performance. Curator: Certainly. Tanjé plays with these contradictions to ask the viewer questions of identity and social mobility of his time. He has also achieved excellent tonal contrast here given this is just engraving on typically a monochrome material. Editor: The engraving is so delicate, giving the work a refined elegance that might suggest the character and era the subject would be most concerned to express, especially in such a public display of the self. I’d wonder what it meant for one's status to have such an item produced. Curator: The production and ownership of such an item indicated one was not only relevant enough for their own engraved portrait, but that they had some capacity to promote its spread and distribution as well. Editor: Ultimately, though limited by the technology of the era, the detail of the image speaks of the detail of his persona—very effectively realized. Curator: Yes, considering the nuances in tonality and depth of field, one gains appreciation for Tanjé’s mastery, capturing both likeness and something of the spirit of Justus van Effen.