Gezicht op Fort Sint-George te Ghana 1668

Editor: Here we have "Gezicht op Fort Sint-George te Ghana," or "View of Fort Saint George in Ghana," an engraving dating back to 1668, currently housed in the Rijksmuseum. The immediate feel is…busy! There's so much happening on the water and even in the sky. What strikes you most about this image? Curator: The "busy-ness," as you say, isn't just visual; it’s historical. Can you feel it? This print screams of a world in flux, of empires clashing, of far-flung ventures driven by – let's be honest – greed and ambition, sugar-coated as discovery. Editor: It does have a certain…energy, despite being almost 400 years old! What about the, well, the dragon-eagle creature holding the cartouche at the top? Curator: Ah, yes! Our winged messenger! This mythological being clutching a globe with "Castel del Mina" written on it... Do you think this symbolic? What could this beast possibly signify in this historical context? Is it guarding or claiming this place, this "Castel del Mina?" Consider also that, back then, cartography itself was power. Who creates the map decides what matters, right? Editor: I guess it’s a symbol of dominance and possession… It definitely makes you consider the whole colonial narrative differently. And how those maps shaped perceptions! Curator: Precisely! Art can do that, stir the waters, muddy the neat narratives, let in the light. What is left to wonder is, did the anonymous artist believe the same? Editor: This makes me appreciate how a simple engraving can unpack such complex themes! It's a little window into a much bigger, much more complicated world. Curator: Indeed. A testament to the quiet power of art, wouldn't you agree?