Gezicht op het Hiëronymus Klooster in Belém 1694 - 1737

Curator: This print, dating roughly from 1694 to 1737, gives us "A View of the Hieronymites Monastery in Belém." The artist is Pieter van den Berge, and he worked primarily in watercolor and colored pencil on this piece. Editor: It has such a dreamlike quality. The soft color palette and precise lines give a sense of meticulous record-keeping blended with sheer fantasy. Curator: Right, and that blending speaks to its historical context. Portugal, like many European powers at the time, relied heavily on its colonies and on slave labor for their resources. Lisbon, where Belém is located, was flooded with exotic commodities brought in by merchants and colonial officials. A place like this monastery, a symbol of both religious and royal power, was absolutely funded by exploited labor. Editor: Yes, it is important to point that out. But you can't deny the formal sophistication of the composition itself. Look at the architectural detail rendered through a linear perspective, leading your eye toward that horizon line and the soft purple clouds above. The symmetry is only slightly broken up with the figures moving about—it’s carefully structured. Curator: Sure, it is visually balanced. But I’m wondering, who was the intended audience? Were these prints meant to glorify colonial achievements, to reinforce the notion of an expansive, divinely ordained empire? The details regarding the artist’s identity and workshop are useful here. Van den Berge made other landscape prints for travel narratives and publications documenting Portuguese colonial endeavors. It gives context. Editor: I can certainly appreciate the socio-historical point you’re making, and yet… there’s just something about the handling of light, and how it creates form within the building’s facade, that captivates me! Look how van den Berge captured the essence of Baroque sensibilities with precision of lines and subtle variations in color. It elevates a potentially flat cityscape. Curator: It gives one a lot to think about – this conversation of the aesthetic beauty versus social responsibility... Editor: Absolutely, the two perspectives working together allows the viewer to think more deeply.