Portret van Abraham Heyse 1685 - 1721

Curator: There's an intense calm radiating from this engraving. What do you think? Editor: This print, dating roughly between 1685 and 1721, captures Abraham Heyse. The work comes to us from the skilled hand of Jan van Munnickhuysen. I would say the calmness is a direct outcome of the Baroque techniques in use here. Curator: Baroque, absolutely! The detail Munnickhuysen achieved using just engraving techniques...it’s phenomenal. Look at the rendering of his beard; each strand seems to have a life of its own. And it gives this depth which invites my own emotions, in. Almost like a mirror to my own being! Editor: I see that sense of depth more in the deliberate structure: the oval frame, the carefully positioned inscription around it. Note, also, how the lines curve to give an increased dimensionality, further exemplified in the face of the man! This is meticulously constructed, designed to create a specific visual and emotional impact. I find his clothes create the central compositional axis for your eye to settle. Curator: Perhaps it’s the softness in his eyes; to me, he almost seems to be in mid-conversation, or maybe reflecting upon... who knows. What I really love is how accessible Jan van Munnickhuysen made his soul appear to our vision! Editor: And there’s a kind of duality, wouldn't you agree, the formal portraiture clashing a bit with the very real-seeming, almost informal expression that captures Abraham Heyse. Look how casually he’s holding that book – this contrasts the grandness you'd expect from Baroque. It's compelling! Curator: Precisely! I'm intrigued now to consider what was truly most important to Heyse himself as he went through his life. Thanks for enriching the portrait and encouraging me to delve a bit deeper. Editor: Likewise. It’s amazing to see how just one printed image allows such varied perspectives. What a clever use of medium by Jan van Munnickhuysen.