Odilbald, zesde hertog der Friezen 1618 - 1620

Editor: This print, created between 1618 and 1620 by Pieter Feddes van Harlingen, is titled "Odilbald, Sixth Duke of the Frisians." The subject looks austere, a lone figure in armor surrounded by landscape details. What stories do you think this engraving whispers to us? Curator: Ah, yes, Odilbald. More than a portrait, it’s a performance! Imagine Feddes, pen in hand, conjuring not just an image but an ancestor. The stiff formality? A deliberate choice to echo bygone eras. Do you see how the towns sit below, like supporting players in his grand narrative? Almost stage props to a king on high? Editor: I do now that you mention it! The landscape feels both present and symbolic, a backdrop as you said. The towns look somewhat… vulnerable? Curator: Vulnerable, precisely! Feddes’ isn't just showing us Odilbald; he's presenting Frisia itself—its history, its claims, perhaps even its anxieties. Note the intricate border, how it frames and almost *protects* the image within. It's as though he's building a little fortress around memory itself. Editor: A fortress around memory... I hadn't thought of it that way. It makes me wonder what stories the artist knew. Curator: Exactly! Isn't that the magic of art? It invites us to wonder, to question, to weave our own narratives into the tapestry of the past. Feddes offers a fragment; we complete the story. Editor: Definitely something to think about. Thank you!