Portret van de Augustijn Agostino Fivizzano 1636

Editor: This is "Portrait of the Augustinian Agostino Fivizzano," an engraving from 1636 by Cornelis Galle I, currently held at the Rijksmuseum. There's such incredible detail! It’s quite a formal, rigid depiction… I am struck by the stark contrast and, well, frankly, the dourness of it. What catches your eye in this piece? Curator: Dour? Perhaps, but think of it as…contained. See how the precise lines trap, yet simultaneously liberate, the subject. The face, etched with experience, framed by cherubic figures - a dance of earthly burden and heavenly promise. It’s baroque, of course, but even within those parameters, Galle achieves a compelling tension. Do you see it in the cross over the heart? Editor: I do now that you mention it! That cross is really striking against the texture created through all the fine lines of the engraving. How would this engraving have functioned at the time? Curator: Probably as a devotional print, a tool for remembrance. Remember, printmaking made images widely available. The inscription tells us Fivizzano was someone of great religious significance: an esteemed theologian, associated with Popes Gregory XIII and Clement VIII. These details aren’t merely descriptive; they construct the identity. Is this, perhaps, less a "dour" depiction, and more…an elevation to sainthood? An official remembering. What do you think of that point? Editor: That shifts my perspective a lot! It moves from being just a stern face to something much more considered and deliberately created. Thanks, that’s really fascinating to think about. Curator: Absolutely! Sometimes art history it all about tilting your head and thinking "What if". Keeps things lively!