Portret van Johann Thomas Arnold 1651 - 1702

Curator: Oh, my. Look at this. An aura of importance rendered in thin lines. Editor: Indeed! This is a print, an engraving actually, titled "Portret van Johann Thomas Arnold." We know it originates sometime between 1651 and 1702. Its creator is Michael Fennitzer. The subject's serious, almost pompous look makes me smile. It’s rather severe, though—dark lines everywhere. Curator: The formal construction is really intriguing. See how the oval portrait is carefully placed above a rectangular base that carries Arnold's title? It's like Fennitzer’s consciously organizing planes and shapes. Then we've the contrast between that meticulous depiction of the face within the oval and the more fantastical heraldic design beside it... like two different worlds. The precise line work... It’s incredible. Editor: It’s almost like looking at two ideas of Johann – the literal portrait, carefully done for posterity and the embellished story of who he wished to be perceived as. Did it really work for you, this portrait? For me the old engraving style doesn’t catch me. It’s too rigid for this old fellow with his silly name: Arnold! Curator: Ha! I think there is a real craft here in the medium choice... That formality does say something about his standing in society back then! It is precisely that rigidity, the Baroque emphasis on structure, which interests me. Also that serious pose, that direct gaze—it invites contemplation, a kind of structural introspection if you will. It draws attention to the visual language of power itself. The Academic Art Style creates a historical dialogue, inviting comparison and maybe even inviting the idea that it will create such emotions, too. Editor: Well, I see that. Maybe I judged it too harshly! He definitely stares into your soul... Or, at least, into your assumptions about people based on their appearance in old prints. Perhaps the power comes from knowing he will last into the future this way. Curator: Precisely. I guess even old Arnold could touch our thoughts a bit…