James VI, King of Scotland 1603

Curator: I'm struck immediately by the details. There's something almost comically severe about the image as a whole, despite being masterfully crafted as a work of engraving. It looks as though Pieter de Jode I produced this print in 1603, presenting us with James VI, King of Scotland. The print resides here at the Met. Editor: Comically severe, yes, exactly! He looks simultaneously bored and annoyed, like he's just been told the court jester isn't actually funny. All that fabulous regal stuff piled on him – the fur, the embellished hat—and yet he manages to look deeply unimpressed. Curator: That “regal stuff,” as you put it, would have been deeply significant. His attire acts as a visual representation of his authority. Note the detail within the crest just to his right, bearing heraldic symbols of both Scotland and England alludes to James inheriting the English throne that year, unifying the two kingdoms. His age, ‘AETATIS SVAE 37’ as is displayed at the top of the work is not so important when it is secondary to being “King.” Editor: Oh, absolutely, I get the symbolism, the carefully constructed image of power. And that’s part of the humor for me—the contrast between the weight of those symbols and the guy’s expression. It makes you wonder what he was really like, under all that kingly stuff. Curator: What the work omits and what it accentuates becomes crucial to interpreting how this figure should be received. The image functions, like any other portrait of its age, as an ideal of kingship, or as close as they could achieve in print. We can infer things, perhaps, from the almost bulbous quality of the hat itself—as though he’s attempting to rise to the occasion in some way. The hat and ruff act as visual brackets drawing us straight to his face as an instrument for leadership. Editor: So much pomp and circumstance captured in stark, almost clinical lines. Makes you appreciate the weight these symbols once carried—and maybe how much lighter things are today. Or at least, how different our symbols of power have become. Curator: It gives us a glimpse into a very specific moment, a critical juncture for the British monarchy but beyond this the piece continues to speak today as a powerful relic of its time. Editor: Definitely something to ponder, beyond just the fancy hat and the grumpy expression!