Hendrik IV in boetekleed onder het balkon van paus Gregorius VII 1790

Curator: Daniel Nikolaus Chodowiecki’s 1790 engraving, “Hendrik IV in boetekleed onder het balkon van paus Gregorius VII,” depicts a pivotal moment of political and religious struggle. It is currently held at the Rijksmuseum. What's your immediate impression? Editor: Haunting, yet delicate! It feels as though a momentous historical event has been captured on a butterfly’s wing. I wonder what type of ink and paper were available to create the very precise, yet soft image? Curator: Well, considering it's an engraving, we know Chodowiecki would have worked meticulously, incising lines into a metal plate, which was then inked and pressed onto paper. The choice of paper and ink are of particular importance as it can tell us a lot about trade, the economy and social class in the eighteenth century. Editor: Ah, the layered labor behind printmaking! Looking at the two panel design of the print, I see almost a before and after image of social redemption. It sparks my interest how history is curated through image-making and social practices that dictate the raw materials used to realize these representations. It’s so very telling that the most wealthy people were typically presented on the highest quality and rarest forms of these media, whereas images for the peasant class were created from simpler materials. Curator: The use of engraving also speaks to the Enlightenment’s emphasis on reason and detail, mirroring the period's fascination with observation and cataloging. Editor: Indeed. I am interested to wonder how he perceived this king who challenged papal authority... Did the king regret his challenge in hindsight? Curator: Intriguing! I think analyzing the artist’s choice of medium is a perfect doorway to understand the political and economic atmosphere during which “Hendrik IV” was made. Editor: Couldn’t agree more!