Wankelmoedigheid 1675 - 1737

Curator: Before us we have Pieter van den Berge's “Wankelmoedigheid”, created sometime between 1675 and 1737. It’s a drawing made with watercolor. What is your first take on it? Editor: Instantly, I notice a distinct ethereal quality. The pastel hues create an airy, almost dreamlike atmosphere. The composition itself is quite dynamic, the figure seemingly caught in a moment of precarious balance. Curator: The title gives us a clue to the work’s meaning: “Wankelmoedigheid” translates to “Fickleness.” Notice how the female figure balances on a sphere atop a plinth or perhaps a document. This image is ripe with symbolism. The sphere represents the fleeting nature of worldly affairs. Editor: Precisely! And consider how the artist employs line and color to amplify this instability. The flowing drapery, the gestural lines—it all contributes to the feeling of movement, of something in constant flux. I love the slightly unfinished quality that enhances the movement of the figure and softens her features to allow you to consider her inner psychological state, an expression of instability and wavering. Curator: Exactly! Fickleness, particularly within a Baroque context, might refer to a person who isn't steadfast in religious convictions. But looking closer at the sphere and the form it rests upon, aren't you reminded of cartographic projections—a symbolic connection to global ambition and perhaps unstable trade or even the wavering political dynamics of the time? Editor: A compelling observation! I agree the material's fragility reinforces this interpretation. The watercolor is subtly modulated in color which contributes to the impression of transience, the shifting sands of fate as it were. Curator: Indeed. So the next time you feel yourself pulled by contradictory desires or confronted with life’s impermanence, recall van den Berge's "Fickleness," a striking meditation on instability and the search for equilibrium. Editor: This has made me think of our own contemporary state, as we, too, attempt to balance and navigate what feels like endless instability! Fascinating.