Portret van Anna Stuart, koningin van Engeland 1702 - 1713

Curator: This is a portrait of Queen Anne of England, dating from between 1702 and 1713. It was created by Pieter Schenk, using engraving as the medium. What’s your immediate take? Editor: Austere, yet grand! All that exquisite detail, the way the light catches those pearls. But the stern expression— makes you wonder what's going on behind those eyes. She looks like she’s balancing a cosmic debt in her hand along with the orb. Curator: It is a baroque piece, and so part of what you're reacting to is surely the symbolic weight of power, communicated via very specific visual codes: the crown, the ermine trim of her robes, the orb she holds, her jewels, and the Latin inscription below, each carefully chosen to convey authority and legitimacy. Editor: Right, it's interesting how printmaking makes even the most powerful figures somewhat…repeatable. Each impression democratizes the image of the queen in a small way, like little propaganda valentines to the masses. I guess you could also see them as luxury commodities for a select elite to consume and admire. Curator: Absolutely, consider the paper itself. Sourcing quality paper, employing skilled engravers, and the distribution network… these factors all underscore the labor and capital invested in crafting and disseminating this representation of Queen Anne, reinforcing class and access distinctions, rather than promoting any form of 'democratization' really. The means of production very deliberately reify social structures. Editor: You make a really interesting point. The piece reminds me of when my grandmother would only wear pearl earrings to fancy occasions… anyway! It's captivating how Schenk manages to make it look both authoritative and ever so slightly… haunted. As if she’s about to ask if she left the stove on. Curator: An odd feeling that the tools of royal propaganda create vulnerability… food for thought! Editor: Indeed! A queen both commanding and mildly concerned about her kitchen appliances! Art history for the ages, eh?