Portret van Margaretha Barbara Ermann 1799

Editor: Here we have Christoph-Wilhelm Bock's "Portret van Margaretha Barbara Ermann," an engraving on paper created in 1799, and currently housed in the Rijksmuseum. It’s striking how the artist chose to portray the sitter in profile within that perfectly smooth oval frame. The figure’s strong profile and distinctive hair create such a poised, almost severe, impression. What stands out to you? Curator: I’m drawn to the seemingly contradictory elements at play here. On the one hand, you have the neoclassical devotion to line, to the idealized profile reminiscent of ancient cameos, meant to evoke notions of clarity, reason, and order. And yet, that *hair*. That glorious, unrestrained mass defies all those rationalist ideals. It reads to me as a deliberate signifier of something more complex, perhaps even a hint of the coming Romantic rebellion against pure reason. Editor: So, that tension wasn't unintentional? It almost feels like the artist is making a statement. Curator: Exactly. It brings me to thinking about the kerchief. Observe the bold, repeating pattern. Patterns, in the late 18th century, were themselves charged with meaning, and the very *absence* of pattern equally so. Ornamentation held all kinds of societal meanings, and spoke volumes about taste, affluence and belonging. Do you notice how the pattern provides some sort of containment? Editor: Now that you mention it, it’s like a counterpoint to the freedom of the hair. Almost anchoring the composition? Curator: Precisely! It serves to ground the composition, but also creates visual tensions, almost like societal tension is embedded in this composition. Editor: This has made me rethink the piece entirely. I’m beginning to appreciate the artist’s use of cultural symbols and the conversation this piece might invite, thanks to your insights. Curator: And for me, I appreciate being reminded that these images persist because they carry coded meanings, visual shorthands to ideas and feelings that endure across time.