Portret van Chlotharius III, koning van Neustrië en Bourgondië 1825 - 1842

Editor: So, here we have "Portret van Chlotharius III, koning van Neustrië en Bourgondië" created sometime between 1825 and 1842 by Nicolas Maurin. It’s a print, an engraving to be exact. It definitely has this old, almost faded feel about it, and there's a sort of gentleness to it. What strikes you when you look at this work? Curator: It’s fascinating how Maurin uses such delicate lines to depict someone of royal bearing, don't you think? I mean, we're talking about an engraving attempting to capture power. The hatching technique gives it almost a vulnerable quality, like a half-remembered dream. Consider that it was made decades, centuries even, after Chlotharius III lived. Do you see a story in those eyes, perhaps? Editor: I do see that vulnerability you mention! I hadn’t really noticed it before, being preoccupied with the crown. The gentleness maybe comes from the artist trying to connect with a distant figure, to reimagine the past? Curator: Precisely! It invites you to imagine what it meant to rule, the person behind the title. Perhaps it’s about power remembered, reflected upon. It certainly moves beyond pure historical record, doesn't it? It almost whispers secrets of forgotten reigns, doesn't it? Editor: That’s a cool idea! Now I’m seeing it less as a static historical portrait and more as a story waiting to be told, an artist connecting with a historical person in their own creative way. Curator: Exactly. The magic of art is in its ability to bring us closer to the past. Now I want to know more about Chlotharius. Perhaps that's Maurin's enduring achievement?