Overlijden van Karel XI van Zweden 1697

Curator: I find myself drawn to the stark reality presented by this Baroque engraving, titled "Overlijden van Karel XI van Zweden," which translates to "The Death of Charles XI of Sweden," created in 1697. This piece, crafted using metal and print techniques, offers a window into the symbolic representation of power and mortality during that era. Editor: You know, my first impression is the feeling of wear, of history rubbing right up against your fingers. You can practically feel the cold metal and hear the clang of it dropping into a velvet pouch or onto a counting table. And all this solemn symbolism pressed into such a tiny, graspable space! It is just brilliant! Curator: Absolutely, and what makes this "portrait" style engraving resonate even further is the anonymous creation. In art history, anonymity can signal a range of factors—from socio-political constraints placed upon the artist, particularly when depicting those of royal lineage or moments of dynastic succession, to choices predicated on self effacement on the part of the engraver, or cultural norms relating to individual vs collective practices of authorship at a specific period. It throws questions of who creates the official image and who has control over disseminating certain images out to the fore. Editor: That’s it! Who makes the story? Who controls the image? Even now, the images are hard to discern because of time. Almost as if it is fading like the man himself! Death is like that you know? It might come on big, and historical and all political, but when it hits us… well we get that coin don’t we? I imagine it worn smooth from worry like that. Curator: The formal "portrait" style invites further scrutiny of the symbols chosen and omitted, pointing to an intended legacy and idealization. This also raises intriguing intersectional queries on what roles monarchy had in shaping, say gender norms of the period. Editor: It's amazing how such a small thing can spark so many big questions, about everything really. What is life? And then also, death! Gosh this thing makes you think about all the coins tossed into all the fountains... all those images swirling down through time! Curator: Indeed, from anonymity and baroque symbolism to current discourses about art's impact. The engraving on this coin is a testament to history's layered nature, its circulation, and the powerful ways it makes it itself both materially and discursively. Editor: Totally. It feels good to consider the meaning pressed into this cold piece of metal; its very touch a way to grab onto some thread of what we all have in common with a king centuries gone! It just feels… human.