Gezicht op Nijmegen vanuit het noorden 1688 - 1698

Editor: We're looking at "View of Nijmegen from the North," an etching by Jan van Call, created sometime between 1688 and 1698. There's such a calm, almost melancholic, stillness to the scene, with that pale, muted color palette. What catches your eye most in this piece? Curator: It’s the tranquility you mention. You feel it, don’t you? The almost eerie silence before, say, a historical event that’s about to explode onto the world. Look how the light glazes the water, a liquid mirror reflecting the clouds. Jan Van Call captures the serenity of Nijmegen from this vantage point as if it's a memory already fading, just like those wispy, ephemeral clouds. It makes me wonder, what stories are embedded in those rooftops, etched forever in the copperplate? Editor: I didn’t consider it as fading memory but now it makes perfect sense. So, the scene isn't just about the architecture, is it? It's also about…time? Curator: Precisely. Time and perception, a gentle reminder of life's fleeting moments. Those tiny figures on the riverbank – what are they contemplating? The eternal horizon, maybe? Perhaps Van Call encourages us to ask not just 'what' but 'when' and 'why'. Isn't it astonishing how much an etching can say with so few lines? Editor: Absolutely. It’s like he’s given us a whole story with a whisper. Now I’m seeing more than just a view; I'm seeing a moment held still. Curator: Indeed, a frozen river of time! Each line, a whisper of history… making me thirsty for answers and perhaps another look. What about you? Editor: I feel the same way. I see so many stories. I need to spend some time, contemplating that horizon. Thanks so much.