Spotprent op gouverneur-generaal Mijer,1866 1866

Editor: This is "Spotprent op gouverneur-generaal Mijer" a satirical print from 1866 by Johan Michael Schmidt Crans, done with pen and ink. It has an almost cartoonish quality. He looks pretty relaxed in that gazebo, given the volcano about to blow in the background. How should we read this image, I wonder? Curator: Oh, I just adore these types of images! This is like a delicious historical snapshot, served with a side of vinegar. Look how meticulously rendered the gazebo is. Notice the flag on top that reads "Buitenzorg," the Dutch name for Bogor, a city in Indonesia. It translates to "Without a care", an ironic touch considering Mijer seems indifferent while overseeing Dutch interests abroad amid looming threats. It suggests a sense of colonial disconnect, doesn’t it? Almost dreamlike. Editor: I see it now! Like he's detached, literally and figuratively, from what's happening around him. He's comfy in his chair, while, basically, the world is about to explode. Curator: Exactly. The whole composition feels precarious. The neat little gazebo against the potential eruption. Perhaps Crans is offering us not just a portrait of Mijer but a critique of a whole era, one perched on the edge of some serious upheaval. Don’t you feel that the penwork alone emphasizes this underlying sense of…imminent change? Editor: It's a bit chilling, actually. A quiet sort of chaos, perfectly captured in ink. I never would have picked up on the irony without you pointing out “Buitenzorg,” I was so caught up in the lines of the landscape. Curator: Isn’t it amazing how a simple drawing can hold so much? I always say, art whispers secrets to those willing to listen… and sometimes, those secrets are delivered with a knowing wink and a volcano in the distance.