Dans rond het gouden kalf 1645 - 1740

Editor: So here we have Christoffel van Sichem II’s “Dance Around the Golden Calf,” made sometime between 1645 and 1740. It’s an engraving, so black and white, with very fine lines. I am immediately struck by the dynamism, the chaotic movement. What do you make of it? Curator: It plunges us right into a scene crackling with... let's call it 'misguided' energy. I feel this tension between the seeming joy of the dance and the clear condemnation of idolatry, as implied by the text below. Doesn't it feel to you almost… theatrical, as if we’ve stumbled into a stage play? What sort of message do you believe Sichem was trying to send his audience? Editor: Good point, the way the figures are positioned almost resembles a stage setup! I'd assume Sichem is using the story as a cautionary tale against abandoning faith for something superficial – like a golden calf. A warning about fleeting pleasures, perhaps? Curator: Precisely. And isn't the very medium – a widely distributed print – itself a comment on the allure of readily available, easily digestible idols, in contrast with deep faith? A biting little paradox, I think. A stark contrast with the grand narratives typically found in Baroque art! What new perspective do you have? Editor: It is a powerful and, ironically, easily distributed piece! It makes me wonder about our contemporary 'golden calves' – what readily available things might be distracting us today from... well, the bigger picture. Thank you. Curator: I completely agree. That's precisely the magic of art, isn’t it? This image, though centuries old, mirrors present realities!