Ruïne van het Kasteel Oud Haerlem bij Heemskerk 1658

Curator: Hendrik Jacobsz Soeteboom brings us "Ruïne van het Kasteel Oud Haerlem bij Heemskerk" from 1658, a print residing here at the Rijksmuseum. What jumps out at you about this image? Editor: Well, first of all, that miniature supplicant. His dwarfed form against the looming castle… it’s a scene of temporal weight. Look how the ruin feels ancient and burdened with stories. It’s less a landscape, and more a stage set. Curator: Exactly! The castle ruin itself—the remnants of Oud Haerlem—it’s treated almost like a theatrical backdrop, perfectly rendered using the crisp lines of engraving. I am curious how the castle is supposed to relate to what it seems to spell out for our eyes, with an ominous sign that reads: Het tweede boek Ior geweest… Editor: In that light, the architectural details become more than just decaying stone, yes? The round structure on the left…it could almost be a fragmented memory of the Roman Empire. Ruins within ruins; empires built upon empires. Soeteboom implies that power is transient, even that which seems eternal. And consider, even the written language acts as a relic too, decaying across time from past Dutch iterations to now. Curator: A Dutch vanitas! The insignificance of the human figure mirroring the eventual decay of all worldly power structures, depicted in that gorgeous detail afforded by printmaking of the Dutch Golden Age! It’s not just a building, but a reflection on the ephemeral nature of power, on lost history, and perhaps, a lament for what once was. Editor: Precisely, all packed into this tiny square. Makes you think about how we project our anxieties onto the landscape. We read these ruins as signs, omens, warnings, rather than simply seeing stone and brick. This resonates beyond the specifically Dutch. It has, perhaps, a universal message about the burdens and ultimate futility of power. Curator: It is like glimpsing into the collective cultural memory, watching stories play out on repeat with slightly different actors in constantly rearranging sets. Editor: Nicely put. After seeing it this way, the miniature worshipper seems hopeful to have seen through to the core. Curator: He seems so confident too! Makes me think of him striding off like the story book character that he is, content with such revelation, even against impossible odds.