Mounted older man, with club at his side, profile toward the left; beneath the horse's neck, a horsetail or oxtail is hanging as a sign of the man's dignified status 1576

Editor: Here we have Melchior Lorck's "Mounted older man, with club at his side…" created in 1576 using woodcut and engraving techniques. It’s currently housed at the SMK in Copenhagen. What strikes me immediately is the… I don't know, the stateliness, despite the somewhat rough lines of the print. What are your first impressions of this image? Curator: Oh, there's a regal air, definitely! To me, it feels like a portal into a world so different from our own, almost a play acted out in sepia tones. Think about Lorck as a sort of proto-photojournalist. This print isn't just a portrait; it's a record of cultural exchange. Look at the details – the turban, the horsetail. These are deliberate markers of status in Ottoman society, clues about the sitter’s identity and position. It feels a little bit like peeking into someone else’s elaborate daydream, don't you think? Editor: A daydream? I hadn’t considered that. I was focusing on the details, almost like a historical document. Curator: Precisely! But what I mean is this feels very ‘othered’, like a Westerner’s interpretation. Are we looking at objective truth or a performance put on for a European audience hungry for the exotic? It almost seems to me the man appears a little bewildered in his finery! Or is it just the light in here? Editor: You’re right, there’s definitely a Western gaze at play. The slight awkwardness almost highlights that. This conversation has given me a richer understanding of the complexities embedded in even what seems like a straightforward portrait. Curator: That’s the beauty of art, isn't it? The way it constantly questions and subverts our initial perceptions! I might even suggest it tickles the edges of your perceptions if you will permit me a little flourish.