Portret van Hendrik III, graaf van Nassau- Breda 1643

Curator: Pieter van Sompel created this engraving, titled "Portret van Hendrik III, graaf van Nassau-Breda," in 1643. Editor: It has such a serious and ornate vibe! The details feel carved rather than etched; the intricacy feels almost unbelievable. What do you make of it? Curator: For me, it is evocative, almost theatrically staged. Hendrik III is framed by a sort of heroic oval populated by putti, weaponry, and crests—symbols of power, legacy, and maybe even the burden of leadership. Editor: Exactly! The materials tell that story, don't they? I mean, engraving isn't the most forgiving process. It suggests dedication, craft—but also dissemination. Prints like these made the powerful accessible, like mass-produced valor. Curator: It is that dance between intimacy and distance which strikes me most. His gaze feels quite human—but look at the weight of his armour! I imagine it a suffocating shield of state. Almost a prison of grandeur, don't you think? Editor: Interesting point. All that armour... consider the labour involved in its making! The miners who extracted the ore, the blacksmiths shaping the metal, the engraver replicating it. An intricate network of skilled artisans made such an image – and Hendrik’s power – visible and tangible. Curator: True. It almost brings tears to my eyes, contemplating these unseen laborers, forever linked to the count's image... What if they were also making art, unbeknownst to even themselves? Perhaps even more poignant than Hendrik's portrayal here. Editor: In a way, this print acknowledges their contribution. By painstakingly detailing the symbols of power and production, Van Sompel inadvertently highlights the value of craft and manual skill within a rigidly hierarchical society. Curator: An elegy written in lines... I appreciate now the layers within this single work. It's not merely an image, but a woven record of social forces and human hands. Editor: Agreed. And maybe that’s the lasting power of this print. Not just Hendrik's face, but the story of how he – and representations of power in general – are constructed through labour and materials.