Geloof 1607 - 1648

Curator: This print, held here at the Rijksmuseum, is entitled "Geloof," or "Faith," made between 1607 and 1648. It's rendered with remarkable detail in the intaglio method. What is your first reaction to this circular composition? Editor: It strikes me as rather melancholic. The muted tones, of course, contribute, but also the figure’s downcast gaze and stillness. The lines are very precise but lack dynamic variation. Curator: Indeed. That precision allows the engraving to convey nuanced symbolism. The woman at the center is an allegory of faith. She holds a cross and appears to be inscribing something. What is being memorialized? How is the relationship with power, violence, or truth being represented in her face? Editor: The circular composition encloses her in what feels like both a protective halo and a confining frame. The inscription curving around the border emphasizes this sense of enclosure and draws your eye back to the central figure, almost trapping her. This looping echoes on many levels. Curator: Precisely. It creates a microcosm of belief. Note how the background vignettes – the church, what seems like the Last Supper— reinforce faith as community, a tradition, and a structure, visually supporting our figure. Also, is she sitting or sinking? And what is she resting upon? Rock or something more amorphous? Editor: I read it as rock, suggesting a solid foundation of belief. Though that begs a question. There’s a distinct separation between the grounded base where the figure is placed, which has considerable hatching, and the ethereal, nearly blank space just behind. That strikes me as significant. Is this work as certain as it implies? Curator: An excellent observation. The negative space could indicate doubt, the unknown. What are the boundaries of our allegorical figure's agency, given she is bound by these formalized and historical forms of religion? That sense of containment might reflect anxieties about faith in that era. Editor: That contrast definitely introduces a level of ambiguity that complicates a straightforward reading of unwavering belief. Curator: For me, reflecting on this image leads to a deeper appreciation of how the visual language of faith adapts and reinvents itself to serve distinct eras and concerns. Editor: It does highlight the visual structures in play when we're trying to render the abstract idea of belief in a concrete, understandable form.