Mozes wordt gevonden 1608 - 1650

Curator: Look at this print, “Mozes wordt gevonden,” or “The Finding of Moses,” attributed to Pierre Brebiette, created sometime between 1608 and 1650. What’s your immediate reaction to it? Editor: It's got a real sense of…well, discovery! There’s almost a theatrical arrangement to it. A dramatic scene playing out as if on a stage! You’ve got the ladies clustered together, drawing attention, set against a placid landscape backdrop, quite detailed considering it’s an etching. Curator: Precisely. And think about that arrangement in relation to the story itself. It’s a visual embodiment of power dynamics at play. We have this group of elegantly dressed women, most likely connected to the Pharaoh's court, finding an abandoned Hebrew baby. Consider the implications of this intersection of wealth, privilege, and vulnerability against a backdrop of oppression. Editor: Oppression dressed in pretty dresses, right? It's fascinating to see this intimate moment depicted with such formality, everyone so draped in fabric, the textures picked up nicely in the printwork. And look, there’s someone attending a little carriage on the right. But it really softens a brutal narrative. I wonder, what would Brebiette make of it now? Curator: Good question! It's interesting to consider his perspective within the social structures of his time. Brebiette, as a male artist, was interpreting a moment of female agency, however circumscribed by historical circumstance and religious law. The narrative gives us an early depiction of intercultural interactions and points of both tension and compassion in unequal societies. Editor: So true! It’s really amazing how much of that you can glean. The print makes me reflect on who tells stories and how, who is allowed to see themselves elevated on a metaphorical or literal wall and how. Makes you want to pick up your own needle and rewrite it a little, or reimagine it! Curator: Absolutely. It reminds us that these visual representations, whether prints, paintings, or photographs, are never neutral. They are infused with power, perspective, and historical context. They’re part of an ongoing conversation. Editor: Yeah, and it makes me so excited, actually, about the fact that this conversation still goes on and we're contributing a few thoughts right now!