Portret van Karel I, koning van Engeland 1680 - 1683

Editor: Here we have Alexander Browne's "Portret van Karel I, koning van Engeland," or "Portrait of Charles I, King of England," created between 1680 and 1683. It’s an engraving, and it's currently held in the Rijksmuseum. The armor looks so detailed for a print. How do you interpret this work, especially considering its medium? Curator: Considering this portrait through a materialist lens, the engraving process becomes significant. We need to think about the labor involved in its production. The engraver, Browne, reproduced an image of the King, democratizing access but also mediating power through a crafted object. The lines, the hatching—these are deliberate acts of reproduction with social implications. Do you think the choice of print over painting was significant in how it could be shared at that time? Editor: That's interesting! It feels almost contradictory, that the portrait of a King, someone of immense power and wealth, would be rendered through a reproducible, and perhaps more accessible, medium like engraving. So, how does the material inform our understanding of Charles's reign? Curator: Precisely! Think about it: an engraving can be circulated widely, fostering a sense of familiarity, but also enabling critique. How would people have consumed this image? Was it framed, pasted into books, or used in political pamphlets? And what does this accessibility do to the image of monarchy and kingship at this time? Understanding the materiality allows us to ask these important questions about production, labor, and dissemination. Editor: That’s a completely different perspective than simply seeing it as a portrait of a king. Considering the printing process, the labor, and how it was disseminated opens up so many possibilities. Curator: Indeed. It moves us away from just aesthetic appreciation to considering the broader social and political context within which this print circulated. Now I’m curious to think about all the political prints that must have circulated in opposition of Charles' reign!