Vrouw met een kostuum van boeken 1708 - 1756

Editor: This is "Vrouw met een kostuum van boeken," or "Woman with a Costume of Books," an etching and print made sometime between 1708 and 1756 by an anonymous artist. The woman's gown is completely fashioned from what appear to be different book bindings. What do you see in this piece? Curator: It’s fascinating how this image layers symbolic meanings. Clothing, throughout history, has always been more than mere covering. What do you make of the choice to represent a woman *as* a collection of books? Editor: I guess it's elevating knowledge and associating it with the feminine… maybe as a symbol of wisdom? Curator: Exactly! Think about the tradition of the muses, often depicted as female figures inspiring creativity and intellect. The books themselves, the cultural capital they represent, are literally *clothing* this woman, imbuing her with authority. The colours too, are there hints of alchemical symbolism do you think? Editor: Alchemy? Tell me more! I hadn’t considered that at all. Curator: Notice the carefully rendered variety in the 'bindings,' Some appear luxurious, some practical. This could represent different types of knowledge or levels of understanding. And there's a visual continuity across centuries... Think of Giuseppe Arcimboldo's portraits of people composed of objects. What lasting cultural memory do such images tap into? Editor: It's clever how the artist used clothing to embody the knowledge contained in books, reflecting how we “wear” our learnedness and display our intellect through the objects we own and, sometimes, literally wear. Curator: Precisely. Visual symbols such as this carry immense cultural and psychological weight. I think the longer one looks at this the richer it gets!