Olden-Barneveld 1780 - 1790

Editor: Here we have Josiah Wedgwood’s “Olden-Barneveld,” crafted between 1780 and 1790. It’s a lovely, small-scale ceramic profile portrait housed at the Met. What do you make of it? Curator: It is more than just a portrait; it's a cultural touchstone. The crisp, clean lines speak to Neoclassical ideals of order and reason, while the profile view itself echoes ancient Roman portraiture, deliberately linking the sitter to ideals of republican virtue and civic duty. Editor: I see what you mean about the Neoclassical style referencing those earlier cultures. The subject himself is intriguing; it’s a very…composed image. Curator: Precisely! Wedgwood cleverly employs visual symbols. Consider the frilled collar - its circular, almost halo-like quality around the face perhaps alludes to Oldenbarneveld’s status or even a martyrdom of sorts. The colour combination of white relief against the blue grounds speaks to purity and heavenly virtues. Editor: So, it's less about precise likeness and more about symbolic representation? Curator: To a great extent, yes. The aim was to craft an idealised image steeped in moral meaning. We must ask, who was the intended audience, and what story was this object meant to convey to them? How would you say cultural memory played into this image, and for whom? Editor: I never thought about portraits operating on that symbolic level so overtly before. I’m interested to see if Wedgwood did other work using such deliberate choices. Curator: Exactly! Examining repeated motifs across Wedgwood's body of work unveils deeper patterns of meaning. Symbols communicate! And by extension cultural and emotional knowledge for viewers, throughout generations.