Ontwerp voor een portret omrand door een slang 1629 - 1690

Curator: Here we have a work titled "Ontwerp voor een portret omrand door een slang," which translates to "Design for a Portrait Surrounded by a Snake." This drawing comes to us from the Baroque period, created between 1629 and 1690 by Charles Le Brun. Editor: Wow, a snake, eh? At first glance, I feel this dreamy vibe, a bit classical, with all those floating figures... it reminds me of cherubs mixed with some mathematical precision because it is a drawing in ink and pen, right? It has a feeling that you want to grab it out of its original context and animate it as a cool modern title sequence. Curator: You picked up on that tension perfectly! It's indeed a design—an "ontwerp"— so it captures Le Brun's planning and intellectual rigor. These preliminary sketches offered artists a crucial way to communicate their intention for later painted portraits in the Baroque era. Editor: I see the cherubic forms, but also, the women... one holding calipers and a tablet! What's she up to? Building a house of knowledge or something? She means business! I get a "knowledge is power" kind of feeling. Curator: Precisely! While the central figure is, well, rather hard to make out, she is being framed, designed, quite literally, within a matrix of history. Le Brun became, due to historical circumstance, the most important single artist in France and, thereby, an agent of state propaganda. Editor: Hmmm, that contextual dimension certainly paints the piece in a new light, from mathematics and science into art being constructed in society... almost politically. It now reminds me of something…the Ouroboros—that snake eating its own tail which symbolizes an infinite cycle and perpetual return! I have always wanted to ink one of those things! Curator: That cyclical element chimes perfectly! Perhaps here Le Brun suggests a constant renewal through imagery, perpetually circling back, influencing and reinventing itself over time, from concept to form. It seems to still provoke conversation in the Rijksmuseum! Editor: So cool how a seemingly simple drawing unlocks so much history, culture, personal symbolism... This drawing is an invitation into so many rabbit holes; who wouldn't get inspiration and power from such beautiful line work?!