Jan-Gaspard Gevartius 1628 - 1631

Curator: Peter Paul Rubens, an artist working with oil on canvas, painted this portrait of "Jan-Gaspard Gevartius" between 1628 and 1631. Editor: Hmm. Very self-contained. Almost as if he’s barricaded behind that massive ruff. What do you think he's writing? Laundry lists of ancient Roman phrases? Curator: Probably more intellectual than that! It's baroque, dripping with signifiers of learning: books, a sculpted head... even the quill suggests Gevartius had the means and leisure to produce texts. Consider the labor involved in producing the pigment for this oil paint. Editor: Of course. Though, my first instinct is, how long did he have to sit? Look at that ornate chair... It looks less like a seat and more like a throne. Poor posture waiting for art? Curator: Well, it also implies the commissioner had power. But observe Rubens's rendering of light and shadow. The materials used reflect contemporary methods of portraying status. The fine details of his garment require skilled labor, signaling consumption and prestige. Editor: Agreed, there's status. Yet, all I really see is a man deep in thought. Or maybe avoiding something; the sculpted head looming to the left almost mocks him. As if both are in a silent stand-off. Curator: That sculptural presence probably draws on the classical past for inspiration in the 17th century. The painting reflects humanism through the emphasis on the intellectual. Editor: Absolutely, it is staged. Yet, the soft way that Rubens painted his face, almost vulnerable despite that ruff... Maybe the 'point' is in the human cost. Curator: Well, examining portraits such as this sheds light on production and its implications for representing social structures during the baroque era. Editor: And I'd add it also brings us back to what we know—our internal lives reflected, even if glancingly, on the faces of strangers in borrowed clothes. Thanks for bringing me here today. Curator: My pleasure.