De Heilige Maagd van Mont-Serrat 1671 - 1713

Editor: We’re looking at "The Holy Virgin of Montserrat," an etching and engraving by Hubert van Otteren, made sometime between 1671 and 1713. It has this intensely detailed landscape, almost like a tapestry of mountains. What do you make of the way he's combined landscape and religious imagery here? Curator: Oh, this piece pulls me in! It’s like a devotional postcard from a dreamscape. Imagine the artist, van Otteren, seeing Montserrat as not just a place, but an idea—a soaring testament to faith rendered with, what, a million tiny, reverent lines? He’s basically built a whole world around the Virgin, hasn’t he? You almost expect tiny, pious mountaineers to be scaling those peaks! Editor: A devotional postcard… I like that! It feels very much of its time, though. Do you think someone today could connect with it, beyond the historical interest? Curator: Absolutely! Think of it as proto-fantasy art. It’s about creating a world charged with meaning, like Tolkien’s Middle-earth or a Miyazaki film. We still crave that kind of immersive, symbolic space. The detail invites contemplation. Don’t you find yourself getting lost in the little scenes he’s etched? It is almost meditative. Editor: I see what you mean about the detail. It’s overwhelming at first, but then you notice these little vignettes. Is that intentional? Curator: I think so. It's about drawing the viewer into the devotion. Every line feels like a prayer. It might seem rigid at first glance, this Baroque intensity. But once you surrender to the lines, the landscapes unfold. It's both grand and intimate. A testament to believing. Editor: So, from detailed etching to proto-fantasy art... That's quite a journey. I never thought about approaching a Baroque print that way! Curator: Exactly! Art's a time machine but also a mirror. Van Otteren looked at a mountain and saw heaven; we look at his print and might glimpse something similar or maybe see something utterly unique and new. It’s a dialogue across centuries!