Festa della Sensa (zesde gedeelte) 1679

Curator: This is an engraving by Jost Amman, dating back to 1679, titled "Festa della Sensa," part six of a larger series. It's currently held at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: Whoa, that's some serious architectural eye candy! It looks almost…stage-like. So many arches and layers – like a pop-up book gone baroque! The monochrome palette has this surprisingly peaceful feeling. Curator: Indeed. Amman, working within the traditions of printmaking at the time, gives us insight into civic rituals. "Festa della Sensa," or the Feast of the Ascension, in Venice was a hugely important political event celebrating the city's maritime power and dominance. It involved elaborate ceremonies, like the symbolic marriage of Venice to the sea. Editor: Marriage to the sea… how romantic and slightly absurd. But it really puts those long, stately processions in perspective. Check out how all figures in the procession are placed to give an exaggerated, yet very ceremonial and ritualized impression, very smart. I wonder what kind of ink was he using to achieve such fine detail? Curator: That detail would have been achieved using metal plates with very precise engraving tools. Look at the repetitive arches, geometric brickwork and perfect distribution of negative and positive space; they indicate order and harmony, concepts Venice would have wished to convey about itself through art. The architecture dwarfs figures; that is the power relationship expressed in the cityspace! Editor: Very telling that it is staged. It makes you question just how real the impression actually is, you know? Still, I like that balance of chaos and control – a crowd observing the march in the background and that heavenly guy… or is he falling, up on the balustrade! Gives a dash of dark humor to what could've been overly pompous. Curator: Those background and "falling" figures show how important it was at the time for engravers to incorporate multiple points of perspective, so, for the patrons who acquired the work at the time, this would signal "virtuosity." Editor: Hmmm…well, the effect really works. You know, I walked in ready to see old-timey Venice, and now I am musing on Venetian PR. Not bad, Jost. Curator: Absolutely! Amman allows us a peep at the social theater of the past and how symbolic action played out visually. It's a lesson in image management, really, proving some things never really change.