Portret van Hermannus de Schoenmaker 1608

Editor: This engraving from 1608 by Christoffel van Sichem I, titled "Portret van Hermannus de Schoenmaker", depicts a rather muscular man holding what looks like a trident. It has a really unique quality about it, combining classical imagery with…well, with the figure of a common man, perhaps. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I'm immediately drawn to the means of production, Editor. The stark lines of the engraving highlight a deliberate labor. Notice how the artist emphasizes the physicality of Hermannus – perhaps this shoemaker held social power derived from material production. The trident could symbolize this control. Editor: So, you are thinking the materials and process behind the art are key here? But isn't it just a portrait of a person? Curator: Certainly. Yet this piece asks us to reconsider traditional hierarchies. The visual language usually reserved for nobility, or even gods, is here applied to a craftsman. Consider the context: this print likely circulated widely, challenging exclusive representations of power. Who, really, had agency here – the engraver? Hermannus? Editor: So, this challenges art's typical function. Was it typical for laborers to have portraits made? Curator: Not on this scale, and certainly not presented with such imposing force! This print complicates simplistic divisions between high art and craft. Also note how the printed medium makes this more widely available than a painted portrait of the same period, thereby potentially expanding the visibility and influence of this shoemaker. Do you find this challenges established social boundaries? Editor: I guess I hadn’t really thought of it in those terms. Looking at it now, I see how it could elevate a craftsman, and how printing lets ideas about who matters reach more people. Thanks, that perspective gives me so much to consider! Curator: Precisely! The material means through which images and power are distributed matters.