Rose King: A Man Astride a Fox 1712 - 1730

Curator: Before us we have a drawing identified as "Rose King: A Man Astride a Fox", an intriguing piece believed to have been created between 1712 and 1730 by Johannes Brandenberg. It’s currently housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Editor: My goodness, what a strange little narrative. It feels almost dreamlike. A jaunty gentleman, perched confidently on what is indeed a rather large fox. The animal’s lean lines give it a fierce, determined posture as they leap across a sparse landscape. It suggests both power and something slightly absurd. Curator: Well, we see an echo of that Baroque flamboyance mixed with a touch of folk art simplicity, right? Consider how Brandenberg utilizes readily available materials for printmaking and the widespread accessibility this offered. He’s imbuing what may be perceived as commonplace with elevated symbolic potential. Editor: Exactly. And let's unpack the symbols at play. The rose emblem displayed on the heraldic shield might link to ideals of love, royalty, or perhaps a veiled personal emblem of the sitter himself. A fox usually signifies cunning, or slyness. Is this “Rose King” embodying these traits, mastering the more animalistic, darker side of leadership or perhaps human nature? Curator: Intriguing! Looking at the cultural history, fox hunts were definitely part of the aristocratic landscape, framing the landed gentry and valorizing that control over the perceived wilderness and thus power over territory and lower social class. Does he wield the sword against that very order? Editor: Perhaps the Rose King presents a romantic vision that belies something far more sinister? Or even reveals what society is like if nobility aligns too closely with the instincts of the wild? The image lingers precisely because of that precarious balancing act. Curator: Precisely, I concur. The politics of image making have consistently enabled those types of readings to endure across the ages. Thank you for joining me as we’ve examined Brandenberg’s “Rose King” this piece holds many questions that encourage us to think beyond that which first appears before us. Editor: It has been a delight! May we all seek out our own symbolic foxes and the truths they carry with them.