Ruit met De Triomf van de Nederigheid (Humilitas) c. 1575 - 1600

Editor: Here we have a Northern Renaissance engraving, "Ruit met De Triomf van de Nederigheid (Humilitas)," made circa 1575-1600. It's currently housed in the Rijksmuseum and attributed to an anonymous artist. It presents a parade of figures and virtues. What I find most fascinating is the detail achieved with a relatively limited palette; how does that inform your understanding of the work? Curator: Considering its context, we see a sophisticated deployment of engraving. It democratized images. Cheaper, easily reproducible...prints like this entered the domestic sphere. It challenges the 'high art' boundary. Look at the labor—skilled, specialized—involved in each line, the density of the cross-hatching that gives the illusion of volume. These weren’t simply copies, but active carriers of meaning to a wider audience. How might the print medium influence its content? Editor: That's a great point about democratization. I see that the figures are allegorical virtues, right? Humility, peace, things like that. Could the print be implying that these virtues should be accessible to everyone, not just the wealthy patrons of painting? Curator: Precisely! The 'Triumph' imagery reinforces this. Triumphs were often depicted in grand processions. But here, made affordable through printmaking, this allegory enters the homes of those who perhaps needed the reminders of Humility the most. It reflects both the power of the ruling class and the virtues preached. Are the ruling classes really exemplifying humility or exploiting people? Editor: So, you're saying it’s not just about the aesthetic qualities of the engraving but also about the means of its production, its availability, and the implied message. That kind of shifts my view of the piece from simply appreciating its composition to thinking about its social impact. Curator: Exactly! It encourages questioning how art mediates values and societal aspirations of any era. This piece reveals so much through material investigation of a once familiar symbolic set of production of allegorical concepts.