Instelling van de Orde van het Gulden Vlies 1825 - 1869

Curator: Before us we have Henri Leys’ “Instelling van de Orde van het Gulden Vlies," created between 1825 and 1869. It’s currently held here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: It has such a raw energy! Look at these hurried pen strokes, practically buzzing with life, as though he’s racing to capture a fleeting moment. Curator: Indeed. This piece offers a glimpse into a historical ceremony. The Order of the Golden Fleece, established in the 15th century, was an order of chivalry, embodying ideals of noble conduct and loyalty. Editor: The material process also highlights the culture surrounding the consumption and distribution of chivalric ideals during that era, how they still functioned within 19th-century Belgium. We’re viewing this now through a looking glass, via paper and ink. Curator: Exactly. The sketch-like quality suggests a work in progress, perhaps a study for a larger painting or a personal reflection on power, gender roles, and social structures prevalent within such orders. Editor: The visible pen work demonstrates that. I see repeated strokes to define form and shadow, hinting at the artist's process. Curator: Observe the diverse figures: nobility in their garments and the background faces that indicate commonfolk at this staged spectacle. It makes you wonder, how complicit are the background observers of a ceremony like the Order, a private members' club? What were the lives like of these non-elites in the social context of the time? Editor: The layering of figures, and the variation of pen pressures and forms, allows a visual weighting which helps to answer your questions. Curator: It’s a stark illustration of ritual and social standing within nineteenth-century European society, particularly Belgium, capturing both its allure and potentially hinting at the implicit social divisions of power in practice. Editor: The artist, through their focus on line and form and, in a way, reproduction by drawing, helps the contemporary viewer ask these questions by viewing the image, in turn. Curator: It highlights a moment of supposed grand tradition, a specific instance to investigate societal dynamics surrounding notions of hierarchy, allegiance, and privilege. Editor: The hurried ink lends a sense of immediacy that contradicts the stiff, controlled nature of the social ritual itself. Interesting juxtaposition. Curator: This quick study provides invaluable context for deconstructing performative societal conventions as we find them illustrated through pen work, allowing them to then reemerge over a century later in this setting. Editor: Precisely, highlighting that artwork isn’t solely about beauty or mastery; rather, it serves as a medium for material inquiry and process by both its maker, and the audience, for us.