Cartouche met Geloof en Liefde bij de tien geboden c. 1728

Curator: This is "Cartouche met Geloof en Liefde bij de tien geboden" an engraving by Jan Caspar Philips dating back to around 1728. You can find it here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: It's strikingly ornate, isn’t it? I'm immediately drawn to how intricately the different vignettes are framed, giving this sense of contained, almost precious morality. Curator: Yes, the framing device is quite significant. The cartouche, with its surrounding allegorical scenes, presents the Ten Commandments as a central tenet, doesn't it? The composition guides our eye to this core. Editor: Exactly! It feels like peering into a meticulously crafted moral compass, where faith and love soften the rigid rules. Look at those figures surrounding the tablets – their gestures almost plead for understanding, or at least, gentle interpretation. It feels a little less like scripture, and a little more… humane? Curator: A key point. The positioning of 'Geloof'—Faith—and 'Liefde'—Love—beside the tablets isn’t accidental. The artist uses these allegorical figures to soften the blow of what might otherwise feel like unyielding law. Notice how Faith holds the cross and Love embraces children, anchoring the commandments in humanistic virtues. Editor: It's like they're whispering, "These aren't chains, but guideposts!" Also, I cannot help but think of morality plays on little proscenium stages given how theatrical this is, like this really Baroque sermon, a miniature lesson. Curator: The baroque aesthetic very deliberately layers the symbolism; it's didactic. I agree. This is communicated in several registers at once. I find myself intrigued with what "Zededichten" means as inscribed here: Moral Poems. This wasn't only meant to guide behavior, but prompt reflection and further art. Editor: That makes the piece all the more compelling. It becomes not only a decorative piece or emblem but rather an invitation to meditate and find nuance. Curator: The Golden Age Dutch engraving achieves a rather remarkable depth, doesn't it? It's almost architectural in its construction of a shared social order based on religious principle, visualized here, as something lovely to contemplate. Editor: Agreed. Seeing it laid out this way is illuminating. I am leaving here not afraid of laws, but ready to write a poem myself about them.