Portret van Johann Andreas Bartels 1736

Curator: This is a portrait drawing from 1736, portraying Johann Andreas Bartels, rendered by Bernhard Vogel. Editor: There’s a cool sobriety to it, wouldn’t you say? That somber charcoal really lends weight to his gaze. Curator: Definitely. Considering Vogel’s mastery of draughtsmanship, it makes you wonder about the socio-economic position Bartels held that he was able to afford such a finely executed likeness. We see an intricate layering of clothing, a detail suggesting wealth and status. Editor: Right. And it also prompts us to reflect on visibility, particularly whose image gets circulated and preserved. What power dynamics are at play in commissioning and creating portraits like these? What social scripts governed the attire and presentation of men like Bartels? Curator: Interesting questions, particularly when you factor in that Vogel likely had a workshop, so labor and division of making would also be a crucial element in dissecting what this object is meant to convey. Think about it: charcoal, paper, tools, the dissemination of the final product and so on. How do these aspects solidify the artwork’s message? Editor: That coat just dominates. The quality and draping point to bourgeois confidence. Is it about more than material prosperity? Maybe an idealized depiction masking social tensions? I am sure Bartels' status could shield him from certain socio-political hardships during the Baroque era, when the stratification between social classes was rigid. Curator: Certainly food for thought! I keep returning to Vogel’s expert command of charcoal though, it is like he wanted to bring forth the very means of artmaking into our awareness. Editor: Yes! Thinking about art as a process, as a mode of social interaction, complicates our easy interpretations. A beautiful note to end on!