Pelikaner 1647

Curator: Alright, let’s spend a few moments with this engaging engraving from 1647 entitled "Pelikaner." Editor: Pelicans… what a hoot! It’s quirky and whimsical. The almost obsessive detail feels so otherworldly. Curator: It’s held here at the SMK, Statens Museum for Kunst, and presents quite an elaborate waterscape bustling with avian activity rendered through the delicate lines of engraving. I would categorize it within the Baroque tradition due to its dramatic presentation. Editor: Baroque birds? I love it! The whole thing feels like a page ripped from a fever dream bestiary. Are they just pelicans, or is there something else at play here? They are arranged somewhat ceremoniously… like heraldic charges. Curator: The print indeed blends observed naturalism with symbolic interpretation, a common practice of the period where animals could signify human virtues and vices. Prints such as these were also part of broader systems of knowledge circulation and social performance, used in the assertion of a natural philosophical erudition. Editor: So, you're saying knowing your pelicans showed you were in the know. What a concept. Do you think there’s something specific about the gathering and poses, especially considering the slightly foreboding feel overall? Like the quiet before a storm…or maybe even a symbolic ritual unfolding before our very eyes? Curator: Well, without further historical information on this artist's work it's hard to claim meaning with any certainty, although it's fair to read an allegorical intent. It evokes period concepts about observing the natural world and then reading symbolism into such observations, not only that but how natural history was being mobilized in public life. Editor: Mobilized how? I see these birds taking flight, or perhaps they’re preparing to, in some orchestrated, albeit naturalistic, dance across a vast space of our collective imaginings. It's beautiful… almost like an encrypted invitation. Curator: Certainly, its place is assured within cultural and symbolic histories from that period of printmaking, an index of attitudes both scientific and philosophical. Editor: Yes, and here we are, centuries later, still puzzling over these wonderfully wrought avian actors, allowing us to mobilize our imaginations through them. A reminder that history's not just facts, but flight— flights of fancy, flights of thought…