Gesprek tussen Tijd en Geschiedschrijving 1755

Curator: This print, titled "Gesprek tussen Tijd en Geschiedschrijving" or "Conversation between Time and Historiography," was created in 1755 by Willem de Broen. It’s currently held here at the Rijksmuseum. What are your initial thoughts? Editor: The stark black lines and the aged paper really strike me. It speaks of a certain frugality; it must have been intended for widespread, and likely rapid, distribution, printed at the house of S. Luchtmans and Sons. I wonder about the physical effort of crafting these minute details through engraving. Curator: The figures themselves are rich in allegorical meaning. We see Time, with his scythe, conversing with History, seated upon a pedestal, seemingly writing about some imperatorial exploits if the titles inscribed there are to be believed. An angel with a trumpet hovers above. They each hold potent, well-established iconographic positions, speaking of both memory and change. Editor: True, and notice how the composition itself funnels our gaze towards History, the purported subject here? Yet, isn’t Time, the personification of unavoidable change, subtly given equal visual weight through that sharp, scythe? How fascinating to think of history alongside oblivion. Also what about the material the print itself is on, notice the slight wear and tear? It clearly had its uses! Curator: The winged figure blowing the trumpet—presumably Fame— links earthly events to something more divine, doesn't it? The artist invokes a narrative, almost like a historical painting shrunk down for mass consumption and remembrance of past victories, or rather of certain imperators. Editor: Mass consumption precisely. A tangible object connecting with a vast, early modern readership, a dissemination strategy aimed for collective participation in historical narratives and ideas about imperatorial excellence. Think of the hands it would have passed through! Curator: The choice to depict History as actively writing is significant, indicating that narratives are constructed, choices are made about what is recorded, memorialized, and circulated for that matter! Editor: Yes! And that history here is packaged, circulated, consumed. Consider the physical cost, from the materials used to the labor involved. These factors ground the ethereal themes of time and fame in a tangible reality. Curator: Considering these visual devices along with their broader circulation truly elevates our understanding of the print's cultural impact in its time. Editor: Indeed, examining the raw materials, from the paper to the engraving tools, really unveils the hands-on work that allows time to exist within material forms.