Strijd tussen Dood en Natuur of Zege der Schilderkunst (deel 7) 1660

Curator: Welcome. Before us is "Strijd tussen Dood en Natuur of Zege der Schilderkunst (deel 7)", rendered around 1660 by Henrik Jordis. We're viewing it here at the Rijksmuseum, crafted with ink on paper. A relatively simple composition. Editor: My first impression is a sense of intimate unease. It reminds me of secret diary entries due to the density of the text and overall small size. It feels secretive and unsettling. Curator: Well, Jordis lived through a tumultuous period marked by war and political instability in the Dutch Republic. This drawing might be interpreted within that context, a private reflection on larger societal anxieties of those turbulent years. Editor: The work appears so overtly text based. How does the text itself—especially its subject—play into our understanding of visual art here? Does Jordis use the drawings as illustrations to the written verses? Curator: The text's narrative focus is pivotal. In Dutch, the title translates to something like “Conflict Between Death and Nature, or Victory of Painting, Part 7." It reflects the 17th-century fascination with mortality but frames art itself, through the painting that "wins," as a mode of resilience. Editor: That immediately makes me think of art's long-standing role as an instrument for immortalization, or at least prolonged visibility, against the grain of death. It speaks to broader humanist claims to transcend constraints. Can we really celebrate art, particularly a very exclusionary version, as universally emancipatory? Curator: That’s the key ambiguity, isn't it? Even in acknowledging death's inevitability, the artwork is intended to reinforce cultural power by upholding art as triumphant and transcendent and perhaps providing momentary respite in the face of that grim reality. Editor: This is making me see the paper and ink as an integral tool—almost like weapons—in his resistance against the looming presence of the inevitable! Thanks for the reading. Curator: A fruitful discussion as always.