Medaillon met de personificatie van Geschiedenis 1718

Curator: Editor: We are looking at "Medaillon met de personificatie van Geschiedenis," created in 1718 by Bernard Picart. It's an engraving, and it feels very ornate, almost overloaded with imagery. What jumps out at you? Editor: I’m struck by the central figure surrounded by cherubs, but the grotesque mask at the bottom is quite jarring! What do you see in this piece, looking beyond just the surface representation? Curator: Considering Picart's world, we can explore the act of production, of how engravings like this, through their materiality and distribution, shaped historical understanding. These weren't just decorative; they were vehicles for circulating ideas, manufactured for consumption. Note the level of detail achieved through the engraving process itself. Does the inscription, “Dum Lego, Colligo,” play a role? Editor: Yes, "While I read, I collect." It makes me think about the assembly line of knowledge and how prints made it accessible, but who had access to create and control this line of production, and who consumed it? Curator: Precisely! The materials, the labour involved in creating this print, the market for it – all of these factors are crucial for understanding its function within the early 18th-century. How does its value shift when considering it less as a window to the past, and more as a *product* *of* the past? Also, observe the creatures above the circle – what sort of meaning do they hold in your interpretation? Editor: Well, when it is viewed in this context, it reveals more layers, doesn't it? From this point of view, I also understand the bestial representations more as signifiers of human labor under the guise of decorative objects. They almost give the piece a contemporary and critical interpretation, almost beyond a standard Baroque composition. I will now have to adjust my material consumption. Curator: Agreed. It becomes less about allegory and more about access and manufacture. A fruitful discussion!