Portret van Ignaz Carl, Reichsgraf von Sternberg 1673

Curator: This engraving, "Portret van Ignaz Carl, Reichsgraf von Sternberg" from 1673, really highlights the material culture of the Baroque era, doesn't it? Editor: It certainly does. It’s very detailed. I see an oval portrait of a man with a huge wig! It almost looks like a cloud around his face. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Beyond the immediately visible, I see a complex interplay of production and consumption at work here. Engraving, as a reproductive medium, allowed for the wider distribution of aristocratic imagery, reinforcing social hierarchies. But think about the labour involved: the engraver meticulously translating an image onto a plate, participating in the construction of this nobleman's image. Editor: So, you’re saying the engraving isn’t just a portrait, but evidence of a whole system of labor and class? Curator: Precisely. The details of his clothing and especially the wig – a massive consumption of materials and effort – scream wealth and status. It is interesting to analyze how material items signify and amplify this individual’s societal power. Editor: That's interesting. I was only really looking at the portrait, but now I'm thinking about the process and the labor that made it. What did this process look like? Curator: Indeed, researching and visualizing each of the individual manual tasks will provide insights into class, economic forces, and material processes, which together influenced Baroque society's operations and visual character. Thinking through the whole history, we might even use this portrait as a jumping off point to ask larger questions: for instance, where did the materials for the wig come from and under what conditions were they produced? Editor: Wow, that gives me a completely new way to consider portraits. It’s not just about the person, but about everything that went into presenting that person to the world. Curator: Exactly. And the engraving allows that image to proliferate, driving consumption and solidifying a specific kind of visual language.