Portaal gedecoreerd met rolwerk en rustica 1593 - 1595

Editor: Here we have Wendel Dietterlin’s "Portaal gedecoreerd met rolwerk en rustica" from around 1593-1595, a drawing rendered with pen and ink. The level of detail is amazing, especially when you consider the time it would take to create such a work. What strikes me is the way Dietterlin plays with geometric forms to represent this architecture. How do you approach a piece like this? Curator: I'm immediately drawn to the means of production. Consider the paper: likely hand-made, with its own inherent texture and imperfections, grounding the image in a very specific materiality. Then we see Dietterlin's skilled manipulation of ink, layering to create depth and shadow. What social structures allowed Dietterlin the resources - time, materials, patronage - to create this highly detailed architectural study? Editor: That's fascinating! I hadn’t thought about the labor involved in the materials themselves. So you're suggesting the drawing is more than just an architectural study; it's a record of its own making and of the social forces at play during its creation? Curator: Exactly! Consider also the role of drawings like this within the broader artistic ecosystem of the late 16th century. Were these intended as designs for actual construction, or were they imaginative explorations intended to showcase Dietterlin's virtuosity? How did this function within the economy of artistic production at that time? Was he perhaps selling the designs themselves? Editor: It makes me think differently about "sketchbooks", as if they aren't merely containers for private thoughts but sites of labor, both intellectual and physical. I guess, it redefines my ideas about artistry itself. Curator: Precisely! It highlights the situatedness of artistic practice within material conditions and social relations. And also forces a broader consideration of the time this consumed.