Vogels pikken pauwenveren uit een ekster 1620 - 1683

Editor: This etching by Georg Daniel (II) Schultz, dating from 1620 to 1683, is titled "Vogels pikken pauwenveren uit een ekster," or "Birds pluck peacock feathers from a magpie." The swirling lines and dense composition create a very active scene. What do you see in this piece? Curator: The visual energy is indeed palpable, stemming primarily from the dynamic arrangement of forms and the textural contrast achieved through varied etching techniques. Note the strategic deployment of hatching and cross-hatching to delineate volume and depth. The composition, while seemingly chaotic, adheres to a pyramidal structure, drawing the eye upward towards the culminating point where the birds congregate in the tree. Editor: I see it. It's interesting how he uses line to create the illusion of depth and texture, particularly in the foliage and feathers. But what’s the meaning of that concentration on different bird species? Curator: The symbolic weight of the varied avian representations is difficult to determine absolutely in isolation. It appears to follow the manner of genre painting. Instead of prescribing a narrative, the emphasis rests on formal relations and compositional strategies to elicit affects of tension and perhaps dynamism in the arrangement. The landscape is quite stylised isn't it? How does this strike you? Editor: You’re right, the landscape has a definite artificial quality about it. Overall I had missed that. Curator: By concentrating our attention on its formal elements, we may bypass imposed meaning and attend to Schultz’s mastery over technique. Editor: It’s really incredible when you break it down like that; I see how much detail went into just the technique and forms themselves. Thank you for pointing that out.