Ruiterformaties (Decima) 1667

Editor: This is “Ruiterformaties (Decima)” from 1667, an engraving by Jan van Ossenbeeck. The composition is so unusual – figures and horses arranged in rows and columns. It has a formal, almost mathematical feeling to it. What do you make of it? Curator: It whispers to me of choreographed power, of military precision elevated to an art. Imagine the scene: men on horseback, responding as one, a ballet of controlled chaos. See how the geometric arrangement contrasts with the organic forms of the horses and riders. It's like a dream of order imposed upon the wildness of war. Does that resonate for you, this tension between structure and life? Editor: Absolutely, that contrast really comes through. And the perspective is so flat, like looking at a map. Curator: Precisely! A map not of land, but of potential. A blueprint for dominance. I wonder, was Ossenbeeck trying to capture the spirit of the Baroque – this love of grandeur, spectacle, and control? What emotions do you experience when you look at it? Editor: Thinking about it as a "blueprint for dominance" definitely changes my reading. I initially saw it as purely decorative, but there is definitely an underlying feeling of control that becomes quite obvious. Curator: Indeed. Art often surprises us with its hidden depths. And sometimes, the most seemingly rigid structures are built upon the shifting sands of human emotion.