Bewoners van de Sandwicheilanden (Hawaii) 1802

Editor: So, this print from 1802 is titled "Bewoners van de Sandwicheilanden (Hawaii)", and it’s attributed to Ludwig Gottlieb Portman. The term ‘print’ doesn’t quite prepare you for the colour, though. It feels a little… romanticized, somehow? How do you read this, what’s your impression of it? Curator: It *is* a beautiful thing, isn't it? A glimpse into a world both known and unknown. For me, it's all about that tension, that strange brew of accurate observation and artistic license. The figures are so carefully rendered, their clothing and adornments –that magnificent feathered cloak, for example– hinting at a complex cultural reality. And the bodies have all this youthful athleticism about them. Editor: Right, almost idealized. Is it maybe playing into some kind of European fantasy? Curator: Maybe, and I think that's unavoidable. These early images are always filtered through the lens of the artist's own background, experience and, well, preconceptions. But also… the costumes! Look at the almost reverential detail there. He must have found that detail breathtaking. Does that read as *appropriation*, now? Tricky! Editor: Good point. I didn’t think about it from the artist’s perspective. Curator: Ultimately, for me it is the story *behind* the picture that gives it the strongest emotional pull. We have to look past what’s included here, as well as how it’s rendered… but at its best it’s a message in a bottle – isn’t it? Editor: Absolutely, I totally get that. It's like unpacking layers of meaning! Curator: Exactly, that makes it so engaging for us!