Portret van Maria II Stuart c. 1744

Curator: Hmm, that's a rather imposing image! Is it me, or does it radiate this incredibly stilted sense of... obligation? Editor: It’s a fascinating engraving, likely dating back to around 1744, that the Rijksmuseum attributes to an anonymous hand. It depicts "Portret van Maria II Stuart," or Mary II Stuart, to give you the English. A real Baroque statement. Curator: Baroque, absolutely! Look at that theatrical curtain pulled back. The whole composition feels almost...staged. Like a carefully constructed piece of propaganda. Did it work? Editor: Well, engravings like this were often reproduced in magazines. Its strength lies in the meticulous details. Look at the intricate rendering of the ermine robe, or the crown jewels, transformed into an abundance of lines and textures, conveying wealth, status and divine right, really. Curator: And the flatness of it, combined with the almost obsessive detail—it's kind of mesmerizing! I find myself drawn to her expression, though. Is it just me, or is there a hint of melancholy behind all that finery? Maybe a kind of sadness beneath the Baroque bluster? Editor: It’s open to debate whether one can extrapolate emotional states from such stylized portraiture. These weren’t about capturing psychological depth as we understand it. This engraving offers an important lens into the artistic and political currents of its time. It demonstrates how the semiotics of power, through composition and material representation, can be disseminated and consumed by a wide audience. Curator: Semiotics! See, I just think maybe Queen Mary felt trapped! The symbols and style are very much of their time, aren’t they? All this wealth, responsibility. It makes you think about the cost of leadership. Maybe that is romantic. But a really beautifully printed romantic vision! Editor: Agreed. While my focus is usually on decoding structure and signs, that sense of lived experience is key to why it is held here at the Rijksmuseum. It is in viewing objects from an intersectional approach, after all, that they mean the most. Curator: Perfectly put! This makes you think what will the portrait of you, as editor, will look like in 300 years. Editor: Hah, probably pixelated.