Hortus floridus in quo rariorum & minus vulgarium florum icones ad vivvam veramque formam accuratissime delineatae 1617

Editor: Here we have "Hortus floridus in quo rariorum & minus vulgarium florum icones ad vivvam veramque formam accuratissime delineatae" from 1617 by Crispijn van de Passe II, comprised of lithograph, etching and print on paper. What a mouthful! Its worn cover suggests many years of use and handling. What do you see when you look at it? Curator: Immediately, the eye is drawn to the tactile qualities of the aged paper and the subtle graphic composition impressed on the cover. The seemingly random smattering of stains creates an unplanned, almost abstract expressionist effect, which paradoxically contrasts and interacts with the structured geometry faintly visible beneath. These geometric figures underwrite an initial composition. Note their circularity. How do they create an implied depth? Editor: I hadn't even noticed the geometric figures at first, too focused on the stains! The overlapping circles almost create a sense of a hidden order within the seeming chaos. Curator: Precisely. These subtle details provide visual texture and establish a dialogue between intention and chance, order and disorder. It offers us a fascinating interplay of the formal qualities of printmaking: the graphic structure underneath interacts in stark contrast with what the random application of pigment makes evident. The cover becomes a surface on which to discover semiotic traces from its existence in time. Editor: So, the history of the object itself becomes a part of the artwork's meaning, almost like an unintentional collaboration across centuries. I didn't realize I could read a cover as a complete artwork. Curator: Indeed. Attending to these minute elements transforms the viewing experience, encouraging deeper engagements with formal arrangement and potential implications, to appreciate unexpected discoveries.