Portret van Wolfgang Göpner 1667 - 1720

Curator: Gazing upon this image, one feels immediately drawn into a quietude, a certain pensive quality. Editor: Indeed, and that might come from the expert manipulation of the materials here. What are we looking at exactly? Curator: This is a print, specifically an engraving, known as "Portret van Wolfgang Göpner," created sometime between 1667 and 1720. It comes to us courtesy of Johann Alexander Böner and currently resides in the Rijksmuseum collection. Editor: Böner. You see the immense labor and technical skill, particularly with those fine lines etched into the copper. But all for what? The print trade commodifies reputation. Gӧpner would've distributed these to enhance his status. Curator: Well, to our eyes, yes. However, I find the subject of the portrait captivating. The eyes seem so heavy with something unnamable. Doesn’t it prompt questions about him, his life? Editor: Sure, but the questions always circle back to production and circulation. Think of the resources expended, the societal structure allowing this form of portraiture to thrive. The paper itself... Curator: And the collar! It is absurdly wonderful, a physical manifestation of formality— almost comical when you really look at it. I see the sitter's face and I have to stifle a giggle. Editor: He's literally framed. Think about the societal framework supporting that gesture! I look beyond the figure and to the larger world, the systems of patronage and value. How was his likeness used, traded, consumed? Curator: Yet I wonder, did Gӧpner choose to present himself in this very way? Does he recognize a trace of himself when the piece went into production? It speaks of an awareness and a relationship to the work, both literally, artist to model, but beyond it also. Editor: Perhaps. And looking again now, knowing how this print served its function within a structured market economy... that lends a new weight, no? Thanks, as always. Curator: Always a pleasure to unveil new thoughts.