Onderboezem c. 1675 - 1686

Editor: So this is "Onderboezem", a c. 1675 - 1686 engraving by Cornelis Danckerts, currently at the Rijksmuseum. It's incredibly detailed! All the lines are so precise. I'm struck by the somewhat unsettling winged figure at the top... What do you see in this piece, with all of its Baroque ornamentation? Curator: The "Onderboezem," more literally "bosom," hints at its function as a decorative overmantel. But the symbolic language… it speaks volumes. What draws your attention to that unsettling figure? Editor: Its strange innocence paired with its slightly unnerving stare and, of course, the wings emerging from what appears to be the center of its chest. It feels... unusual. Curator: Indeed! The figure isn't just ornamental; it's a symbol, perhaps an angel, a "genius," or the "psyche" emerging— a winged representation of the soul from the heart, so to speak. And notice where it is placed: atop the empty frame, hovering like an otherworldly reflection waiting to inhabit that domestic space. This points to beliefs around the house and the spiritual life and what one brings in with one's decor. Does the "bosom," become the heart of the home, reflecting inner virtues through the aesthetic choices of its inhabitants? Editor: That's fascinating! So, the overmantel wasn't just decorative, but almost a mirror reflecting and shaping one's soul and domestic life. That definitely shifts my understanding of the piece, to an uncanny, almost didactic tool of spiritual reflection! Curator: Precisely! The home becomes an exercise in applied philosophy, a dialogue between object and soul! It makes you consider: How much of ourselves, of our aspirations, are consciously built into the spaces we create? Editor: I never thought of architectural elements like this holding such potential depth! It’s been insightful to see the symbolic language embedded in this design. Curator: And to realize we continue this silent tradition in our own spaces today.