Visitatie 1590 - 1622

This is 'Visitatie', an engraving by Boëtius Adamsz. Bolswert currently held in the Rijksmuseum. The stark monochrome and intricate hatching immediately draw us into a world of contrasts. The composition is structured around a dialogue between interior and exterior, human and divine. Note how Bolswert uses architecture to frame the Visitation, carving the scene into distinct planes. We see Mary and Elizabeth in the foreground, but our eye is drawn through an archway to another room. The lines of the beams and the stone floor, the receding planes of the landscape, all converge to lead our gaze into the distance. This isn't just a depiction of a biblical scene; it’s a carefully constructed meditation on space, perspective, and the interplay between the earthly and the ethereal. Bolswert invites us to decode these structural relationships, and to consider how they affect our understanding of the artwork.