Rond bassin met leeuwenkop 1664

Editor: This is a drawing called "Rond bassin met leeuwenkop," or "Round basin with lion's head," from 1664 by an anonymous artist. It's a vividly coloured rendering of what appears to be a fountain. The lion head design feels so quirky! What strikes you most when you look at it? Curator: Immediately, I’m drawn to the tension between the baroque flourishes, specifically the theatricality of the lion’s head, and the almost naive rendering of the water spouts. Observe how they are uniformly linear, quite divorced from any naturalistic depiction of fluid dynamics. Editor: So you’re seeing a contrast in styles? Curator: Precisely. Note the formal rigor in the overall composition, this symmetry around a central axis; it reflects an ordered vision, in conflict with the exuberance implied by the subject. It brings the concept of "fountain" down from triumphant display to domestic scale, one perhaps even intended as humorous. Also, ponder the plate’s edges as boundaries, and their relation to spatial perception. Do they contain, or reveal what has been extracted? Editor: That's an interesting way to think about it. I guess the artificiality almost emphasizes the artistic intention, removing it from reality. Curator: Exactly! Consider also the deliberate artificiality of the color choices and applications. Do the bright, delineated bands augment the architectural form, or call more attention to the work as drawing, and further de-emphasize the representational elements? Editor: That's given me a new perspective on what the artist was trying to communicate about representation versus presentation! Curator: The visual and theoretical density of even such a seemingly simple image demonstrates just how much a rigorous formal analysis can yield. Editor: Definitely, I’ll be looking at colour and lines differently from now on.