Gehoor 1739

Alexander van Haecken created this mezzotint, “Gehoor” or “Hearing,” sometime in the early 18th century. The composition is dominated by the figure of a woman, centrally placed, her gaze lowered as she holds a mandolin. The tonal gradations achieved through the mezzotint technique lend the image a soft, almost dreamlike quality. The rendering of texture is particularly noteworthy, from the delicate feathers adorning her hair to the folds of the drapery that loosely cover her form. Haecken employs light and shadow to sculpt the figure, creating a sense of volume and depth within the two-dimensional plane. This work functions as an allegory, representing one of the five senses. In its formal construction, Haecken engages with broader artistic concerns of the period, such as the representation of ideal beauty and the exploration of human perception. The print invites a prolonged viewing, during which the interplay of light, texture, and form reveals itself as a site of ongoing interpretation.