Portret van Werner Wilhelm Blaspiel 1679

Curator: Here we have a striking piece—an engraving from 1679 entitled "Portret van Werner Wilhelm Blaspiel," created by Herman Hendrik Quiter. Editor: It’s funny, my first thought wasn't about any artistic style or historical relevance. I looked at his wig and thought, wow, imagine trying to sleep with that thing on? Talk about a hair helmet. Curator: Well, before you delve too deeply into historical hairstyles, perhaps we should consider the rigorous formality embedded within this Baroque portrait. Notice how Quiter uses precise lines to sculpt the contours of Blaspiel's face, setting him within an oval frame. It's all very structured. Editor: But doesn’t the rigid formality make it kind of... soulless? All these lines meticulously documenting the dude’s wig and official attire while giving absolutely nothing about what Werner might have actually *felt* about his station, his hair, or his world! Curator: That might be because the image strives to capture something else. Consider the inscription at the base—it identifies Blaspiel as, among other things, a Ducal advisor. The engraving operates more as a record and validation of status than an invitation to psychological depth. Editor: See, that's the problem, right there! Art as a social document rather than a deep, revealing experience. I would love to know what Blaspiel actually liked rather than just a list of what titles he held! Curator: It's precisely that distance, I think, which offers insights. Look at the careful hatching that models the face. There's skill, but there's also a distancing effect in the perfect, uniform application. The line becomes both descriptive and emotionally cool. Editor: It feels more like documenting a well-preserved relic from a bygone era, an almost alien landscape of political appointments and ridiculously elaborate wigs. What exactly was the point? Curator: Perhaps that very preservation, the act of memorializing identity in a structured, public way, *was* the point. An intriguing question, to which, perhaps, there's no truly satisfying answer. Editor: Maybe some things, like really extravagant wigs, are better left in the 17th century.