De exercitie met de targe en rapier: de soldaat houdt de targe iets naar voren om de rapier te kunnen trekken (nr. 4), 1618 1616 - 1618

Curator: Here we have Adam van Breen's engraving from the early 17th century, sometime between 1616 and 1618, titled “De exercitie met de targe en rapier: de soldaat houdt de targe iets naar voren om de rapier te kunnen trekken (nr. 4).” quite a mouthful, isn’t it? Editor: It is! My initial impression is that it feels like a very precisely observed study, almost theatrical in the soldier's pose. There's a stillness to it, despite the action it's meant to depict. It reminds me of a stage actor getting ready for a sword-fighting scene. Curator: It absolutely is staged. These prints were likely part of a manual, illustrating the proper techniques for using the targe, that's the shield, and the rapier. These manuals were actually pretty popular ways to teach and standardize military skills during the period. Van Breen might have aimed to represent and disseminate specific military training exercises. Editor: It's fascinating to consider these images as tools for standardization in the military. When I look at his green trousers and the detailed rendering of the metal, I imagine how an artistic piece became part of the military infrastructure of the time. Are these soldiers actual depictions, or more generic figures? Curator: It is unlikely it represents a specific individual; most likely a carefully studied model wearing stylized arms and attire. He probably wasn’t intending to glorify battle. Instead, he emphasizes technique, and the practical skill of wielding these weapons. He captured the detail, almost clinical approach, with an amazing artistic sensitivity. Editor: And the effect of capturing this "exercise" in such detail, I think, gives a very different impression than one would get looking at paintings of large, romantic battles from the same period. It is this sort of genre work that brings me back to ground zero as a viewer, face-to-face with the intimate and human. Curator: Right! And even this practical image contains artifice, the decisions of what to show, how to pose, what to simplify, giving the historical subject a unique character, too. Editor: A moment, distilled and considered! I am left thinking about the image's public role. Art doesn't exist in a bubble; even instruction guides convey cultural meaning and reflect institutional powers. Curator: Exactly! Now I see that this artwork's quietness speaks to me of focused, deliberate effort. Van Breen really shows us a story of individual craft and mastery, hidden in what seems like a practical lesson.