Ornamentele omlijsting voor een titelpagina 1683 - 1733

Curator: Before us is "Ornamentele omlijsting voor een titelpagina," a title page design credited to Bernard Picart, dating somewhere between 1683 and 1733. It resides here at the Rijksmuseum and is an engraving. Editor: Ooh, I love the dramatic flair of it all! The overflowing cornucopias especially – it feels so excessive, almost comically abundant. Curator: Indeed, the composition emphasizes visual hierarchy and balance. Note the rectangular frame, embellished with symmetrical flourishes, corner ornaments and its overall effect conveys order and classicism. The engraving's precision in line work accentuates detail. Editor: It's definitely organized. The cornucopias... are they puking money? Is this Baroque sarcasm? Or maybe celebrating wealth *a little too* enthusiastically? It also feels a bit cold with no words present on the frame. It doesn't whisper the promises a good cover should. Curator: I think the empty frame is an integral element. It invites interpretive openness. This Baroque title page becomes not a portal but rather an ornate boundary. A threshold signifying potential stories yet to be born. Editor: Okay, boundary, portal, got it. So much possibility from Picart, this doorway still excites! A blank invitation that, after some centuries, now we fulfill. Curator: An eloquent articulation of its enduring capacity to elicit. Thank you. Editor: Thanks for being so patiently serious!