Aanslag op het leven van Willem III door sir George Barclay 1696

Editor: Here we have a Baroque engraving from 1696. It’s titled "Aanslag op het leven van Willem III door sir George Barclay" and appears to be printed on metal, crafted by Jan Boskam. My first thought is how dense with imagery it is; there are details everywhere. It also looks really weathered, it's got such an artifactual feeling. How do you even begin to unpack a piece like this? Curator: That weathering tells its own story, doesn’t it? Echoes of hands passed down, tumultuous moments survived. You are right to be drawn to the details because what Jan Boskam tried to do, as a portraitist, was akin to capturing lightning in a bottle. Each of these engravings carries immense political weight as the "attack on the life of William III" represents a pivotal point in history. What feeling do you get from that weight? Do you think this could change, based on perspective? Editor: Definitely weighty! It has the look of something you’d bury in a time capsule to say, “remember this!”. It feels very celebratory, too. It seems almost celebratory despite the apparent subject matter: an assassination attempt! Is it a commemoration, a warning, or both? Curator: Ah, but is it really celebrating the assassination attempt, or is it perhaps celebrating its *failure*? Look at the angelic figure hovering above… divine intervention, perhaps? I see layers, echoes of propaganda carefully etched. The intent here becomes almost…malleable. Perspective becomes everything. Editor: Wow, that's a good point! It completely shifts my perspective seeing the protective angle, framing the subject within. It feels like so much early art was making political arguments. I suppose that it still is, in many ways. Curator: Indeed. The political theatre never really closes, does it? Thank you, it has really shaped a new dimension of appreciation for the weight these artefacts really hold. The real art might be the stories the object doesn't quite tell us...