De papegay in 't groene wout / Draagt een kleed van geluwe-gout 1725 - 1780

Curator: This engraving, “De papegay in 't groene wout / Draagt een kleed van geluwe-gout,” created between 1725 and 1780 by Johannes (II) Kannewet, features a parrot nestled within a forest setting. Kannewet was based in Amsterdam at that time. Editor: It feels incredibly intimate for a baroque print. The parrot, almost life-sized, stares right at you. The texture of the feathers and foliage are meticulously rendered, which adds to this intense feeling of connection with nature, almost as if it is inviting us into the frame. Curator: Considering the socio-political context of the Dutch Golden Age, the parrot could symbolize the exotic allure of international trade and the growing influence of the merchant class. Parrots, imported from distant lands, became potent signifiers of wealth and global awareness. Editor: Absolutely! And look at the foliage – the way it's intertwined. It brings a very grounded feel, reminding us of the interconnectedness between the wild and domesticated. You know, I find myself wondering about the artist’s state of mind. Curator: From a feminist perspective, we might consider the role of the "natural" within representations of power. Here, we can read the parrot both as a spectacle of nature and an item within structures of display and knowledge production that ultimately perpetuated colonial agendas. Editor: That’s interesting… for me, I see it as something so completely other—that the parrot as an emissary calls us back to wildness… It feels hopeful! And, look closer. It almost appears as if the image teeters—on one edge there’s such delicate etching that almost disappears… While other segments stand solid as fortress. It seems to me this balance hints at a universal tension in the era’s imperial pursuits. Curator: It seems we are always called back to the imperial in depictions from this era! Well, perhaps in its textures and lines, there is a place for universal feeling after all! Editor: Definitely a perspective worth, ahem, parroting. Thanks for taking a look!