Soldaat met geweer naar rechts 1708 - 1717

Curator: Dirk Maas created this engraving titled "Soldier with Rifle Facing Right" sometime between 1708 and 1717. Editor: Wow, what a focused, tense image! I can practically feel the recoil in my shoulder just looking at him. The lines really communicate that coiled energy. It’s so raw. Curator: The choice of engraving certainly adds to that effect. It was a readily reproducible medium at the time. Images like these circulated widely, contributing to the popular imagination of military life, heroism, even masculine ideals in the Baroque era. Editor: Heroism? Hmm, maybe. To me he looks... caught in the act. The pose is awkward, almost vulnerable with his knee on the ground. Not how I usually imagine heroic soldiers. I think of swagger, of being upright. Is there any room for that thought? Curator: Absolutely. It is important to recognize the constructed nature of martial heroism. Printmakers like Maas participated in the commercialization and distribution of such images. We, as modern viewers, bring our own lens of critique and lived experience when viewing the image. These prints provided a level of access for people removed from battles and wars and that access point also frames it in many ways. Editor: Right, so in its time maybe it spoke to some ideal, or was even used as recruitment propaganda. But it's funny how stripped down it is. You see just the single soldier and his weapon and the minimal ground under him. It gets rid of all the pageantry to me. It makes you look at him directly. Curator: Exactly! That stripped-down aesthetic is actually part of the strategy. The intention behind such art pieces created during the period, was to create awareness in society about the current events in general. They could have used color to create the spectacle and lure you, but engraving was a fast way to get the message across, to gain some control over shaping public sentiments about the war. Editor: That makes sense. I do leave here with a deeper understanding of what this single character might represent. It's impressive how much the bare minimum can do. Curator: Indeed. It’s a reminder that what appears simple on the surface is often entangled in complex histories and interpretations.