Portret van Aegidius Strauch 1682

Editor: So, this is a print called "Portret van Aegidius Strauch" from 1682. It's by Elias Hainzelmann, and it’s currently at the Rijksmuseum. It’s an engraving, a portrait, and quite… serious, wouldn't you say? It has this austere baroque feel, almost… photographic, like a historical record. What leaps out at you when you look at this piece? Curator: Oh, absolutely! Hainzelmann’s rendering indeed feels like stepping back in time. It whispers of intellectual rigor and perhaps even a touch of…dare I say it…self-importance. See how the Latin inscription, "Fallimur, aut toto vinceret Orbe Fides!", almost theatrically frames Strauch, the Doctor of Theology, Professor, and Rector? It suggests Strauch alone might conquer with faith where others falter. Makes you wonder about his ego, doesn't it? Almost comically exaggerated, but beautifully rendered nonetheless, right? Does this piece remind you of anything? Editor: I hadn't focused on that inscription... It makes me think about power and representation, how people in positions of authority wanted to be seen. All the detail packed into one piece to convey something of the essence of the sitter. Is there an element of… humor here? Curator: Indeed, and I’m so glad you caught the undercurrent of, perhaps, self-aware grandiosity. Perhaps Hainzelmann, with his artist's eye, couldn’t resist poking a little fun, even while immortalizing him. Did you catch the gaze? Strauch seems almost comically unapproachable, doesn’t he? Almost as if he were saying, "Behold, the great Aegidius!" Which can only mean... what? Editor: It makes me think a bit about celebrity culture even back then, that desire to project an image to be consumed, and how enduring it all is. So I was thinking about something quite sober, I guess, when it could actually be something much more funny! Curator: Exactly! The beauty of art, eh? It's both, at once. Always, more than meets the eye, which, hopefully, will be a comforting realization for you.