Narcissen 1670 - 1726

Editor: This is "Narcissen," a drawing and etching on paper, made sometime between 1670 and 1726 by Gerard Valck. I'm immediately drawn to the detail and how delicate it feels, even though it’s a print. How do you interpret this work in the context of its time? Curator: Well, first, notice the paper itself, the aged, toned quality which tells us about its journey through time and the archival practices that kept it around for us to see. In the Dutch Golden Age, botanical studies were booming. Beyond their scientific interest, they served as emblems of wealth and refined taste, readily available for public consumption via print. What social function do you think a print like this might have served? Editor: I suppose it made owning art accessible. Was it like a status symbol or a form of conspicuous consumption? Curator: Exactly! Consider the intended audience: the rising merchant class, eager to emulate aristocratic sensibilities. Prints like this allowed them to participate in a culture of collecting and connoisseurship, advertising themselves as patrons of science and the arts. These were often included in personal sketchbooks and art collections. Do you think the medium influenced how it was perceived then versus how it's viewed today? Editor: I imagine it was appreciated for its relative affordability and reproducibility then, whereas now, we might value it more as a unique historical artifact. Curator: Precisely! Its existence within the public sphere through its print format shaped its initial impact. And now, within the museum context, it undergoes another transformation, being re-presented, re-evaluated, and imbued with new layers of meaning. Editor: So interesting how the same image can mean such different things depending on who's looking at it and when. Curator: Indeed. Thinking about how its historical context intersects with how it's perceived today makes all the difference. Editor: I’ll definitely keep that in mind as I study more works from this period! Thanks for sharing your insight.