Isaac de Benserade c. 17th century

Curator: Here we have Gérard Edelinck’s engraving of Isaac de Benserade, a portrait capturing a man of obvious importance, wouldn't you say? Editor: Importance, yes, but also a strange melancholy hangs about him, like a heavy perfume. Those symbols below – shields with crescent moons – are they hinting at something hidden? Curator: Indeed. Shields often represent lineage and status, while crescents can symbolize growth, change, or even a connection to the lunar, feminine side. They create a sense of depth. Editor: I’m struck by the way Edelinck used line. Look at the hair—a riot of curls, almost baroque in its extravagance. It contrasts so sharply with the stoic face. He seems trapped. Curator: Perhaps trapped by his own success? Benserade was, after all, a celebrated playwright, a star in the French court. Maybe Edelinck is showing us the weight of expectation? Editor: It is something to ponder; the weight of expectation, the dance of symbols, and the quiet sadness etched into a celebrated face. Curator: Exactly. Art invites us to see beyond the surface, doesn’t it? To find the untold stories.