Portret van Jan van Leiden 1606

Curator: Here we have a print from 1606, “Portret van Jan van Leiden,” created by Christoffel van Sichem I, currently held at the Rijksmuseum. It’s an engraving, characteristic of the Northern Renaissance style. Editor: My initial feeling is a kind of somber dignity, despite the subject's rather infamous reputation. The sharp lines of the engraving, combined with the sheer amount of text crammed onto the page, gives it an almost... oppressive feel. What strikes you first about it? Curator: Well, the detail for one! Van Sichem really captured Jan van Leiden's...presence. Look at the intricate ruff, the details in his cloak, the way he holds that dagger – almost like a scepter. You can see that, compositionally, there is a certain formality, a kind of staged presentation meant to evoke power, despite this Jan van Leiden having already fallen. Editor: True. But there’s a vulnerability too, wouldn’t you agree? The soft modelling of his face, contrasted with the graphic rigidity elsewhere. Perhaps reflecting the artist’s complex understanding of the historical figure. Then the hat; so severe with such rounded features as Leiden’s. And is that a halo-esque feature rising behind his head? How does this fit into the narrative? Curator: Ah, you are seeing those crown and cross forms back there! Clever eye. But I interpret that as more of an attempt to cast him in an ambiguous, almost mythical light. The Reformation period, of course, was ripe with religious tension. This portrait seems to simultaneously acknowledge his power and hint at the heretical nature of his reign in Münster. It’s complicated! Editor: So it's the duality, then, that intrigues – that push and pull between perceived strength and underlying... doubt? It seems very indicative of the period. And perhaps tells us more about the society that produced the work, than it tells us of Jan. It shows us just how deeply contested every claim of power or religious legitimacy was at that moment. Curator: Absolutely. Van Sichem provides such an interesting view to what could have become an idealised image and allows us an insight that mere historical accounts alone wouldn't grant. Editor: I completely concur. To distill it down into an accessible visual form and, in so doing, opening that moment to reflection for the here and now – the piece delivers!