Portret van Paul Volckamer 1672

Curator: So, here we have Johann Friedrich Leonard’s “Portret van Paul Volckamer,” an engraving dating back to 1672. Editor: First thought? An intriguing mix of solemnity and slight…pudginess? The way the face is framed, it almost feels like he’s peeking through a porthole. What do you think about the context behind portraiture during this period? Curator: Right? Like a slightly suspicious cherub. Well, in the baroque era, portraits were power statements, very performative. Often intended to broadcast status, intellect, or divine right... It's a very controlled visual language of aristocracy and commerce. This fellow, Volckamer, appears to be presented as a man of consequence and I see under the oval an inscription to back this. He’s a ‘Duunvir’. Editor: That’s what strikes me as well. The “Duunvir”—it signals civic leadership, Roman Republic nostalgia in a sense. And look at that oval frame – it echoes ancient cameos, projecting lineage, the weight of classical tradition onto this man. I wonder how accurately the engraving translates the original textures, because even though it’s all monochromatic, you still read velvet or fur. And what of the somewhat nonchalant air – the ‘divine right to do as I please’ smirk! Curator: I adore your smirk observation. Leonard has really captured that slightly aloof detachment in Volckamer’s gaze, a certain confidence that says, "Yes, I am important." Also, I'm imagining him after the sitting… undoing that rather tight frilly collar, chuckling as he puts on his slippers. It is just delightful imagining behind the scenes. Editor: Ah yes, the tyranny of fashion—those restrictive garments as tools of enforced identity. And his expression speaks volumes about baroque anxieties, a new middle class challenging established structures and the ever present threat of the bubonic plague. Also, that hair! In contemporary terms the coif of a mid-level functionary on an online meeting! Curator: You're terrible! And brilliant. But seriously, it’s like the mullet of its time – business in the front, relaxed party at the back. Leonard must have known that detail would humanize him in the engraving. Thanks for taking the mick and yet drawing that tension into clear relief! It’s no mere documentation, it's interpretation, filtered and translated so adroitly by the artist! Editor: Precisely! The magic of the artist adding all those subjective little human details... that can be seen with just the glimmer of a smile! I wonder what our contemporary technologies might capture. I wonder if they would have the same enduring, mischievous insights! Curator: Who knows? Thank you for the most thought provoking walk to that canvas I have had today. I am going for tea now!