Donna di Brabantia 1598

Editor: Here we have Christoph Krieger's "Donna di Brabantia" from 1598, a fascinating engraving. It’s the linework that grabs me initially; it feels so deliberate, almost like a map, but of a person. What do you make of it? Curator: A map, yes! Or perhaps an architect's rendering for a most important building – a woman. I love how Krieger uses line not just to depict, but almost to *construct* the form. Notice how the dress, particularly, seems built from a series of parallel lines, lending both weight and, paradoxically, a sense of ethereal lightness. And the Northern Renaissance frame, does that suggest anything to you? Editor: That’s a lovely way to put it! The frame definitely feels very of-the-period. Is this work more about the ‘idea’ of the Brabantian woman, or a specific individual, do you think? Curator: Ah, that’s the delicious ambiguity of portraiture from this era. Is it her, *herself*, or an ideal...or maybe a warning? Consider the woman's guarded expression, her hands clasped rather demurely, yet her garments, rendered in such specific detail, proclaim wealth and status. Is she a template for aspiration, or simply a marker of Brabantian identity? Who did Krieger think he was portraying? It gives me chills to think about. Editor: I see what you mean. The engraving manages to convey both the general and the specific so intriguingly. I will always wonder how she really felt being portrayed that way! Curator: Precisely! And isn't that the enchantment? To meet across centuries through a looking glass of ink and paper and imagine whole lives swirling in the strokes of lines!