Portret van Filips Willem, prins van Oranje c. 1572 - 1608

Curator: Standing before "Portret van Filips Willem, prins van Oranje," a print made sometime between 1572 and 1608 by Pieter van der Borcht I, hanging in the Rijksmuseum, I can almost smell the parchment. What grabs you, being so close to it? Editor: Well, it’s incredibly detailed! And a bit… austere? All that black and white lends it a formal, serious mood. He certainly looks important, decked out with finery. With so much going on in the composition, what jumps out at you? Curator: You’ve nailed it. Austere *and* important! For me, it’s the landscape peeking through behind him, just beyond that velvet curtain, all those symbolic touches. The sea is bustling. I imagine this sea connects him, in essence, with realms over which he reigns. That meticulously etched clothing and that lace collar… How does it make you feel that this likeness, this constructed persona, is meant to last centuries, to reach *us*? Editor: It's sort of bizarre. I mean, he's got that little crown casually placed on the table; and, that's how people thought of power back then. So absolute. What's more to know? Curator: Perhaps this "absoluteness," as you called it, hides the turbulence, the vulnerability under the ruff. Notice the tension in his gaze? The somewhat unsure pose, standing behind all these powerful images. Is this person a ruler or merely masquerading as such? Editor: Interesting. So, it's not just a portrait, but also a carefully constructed message about power? Curator: Exactly. A crafted persona, debated, reinforced, questioned. Each viewer engages in that conversation; just now you added yourself. Editor: I like that. Art as a conversation across time. It makes me want to dive deeper into that historical context to learn more. Thanks!