Paulus voor Festus en Agrippa 1629 - 1740

Editor: This is "Salomo zit op zvn Koninglyke Stoel" by Christoffel van (II) Sichem, created sometime between 1629 and 1740. It’s a baroque engraving. The density of detail is striking. What do you see when you look at it? Curator: What leaps out at me? The sheer *theatricality*! Imagine the scene unfolding like a stage play. Solomon, enthroned, almost bathed in a raking spotlight - metaphorically speaking, of course, given the lighting is an illusion conjured from lines. It feels as if the artist wants us, as audience members, to witness Solomon's judicious rule. Do you pick up on any hints about how *Solomon himself* is to be interpreted? Editor: Well, the crowd definitely looks up to him. It gives him an air of authority, but also makes me wonder about what they want from him. Curator: Precisely! This print would have been one of many images circulating that tried to capture how rulers related to their constituency and administered the affairs of state. Baroque art, for all its flourish, has some rather *grave* intent behind it: the wielding of power. Look at the way everyone is actively placed and carefully depicted; this seems designed to *teach* something rather than delight…what do you think it wants to convey? Editor: That's interesting. I guess it's making a statement about justice, authority, maybe even duty, as if each person is locked into their roles... Almost like, dare I say, the *puppet show* you were describing at the beginning. Thanks to your suggestion to scrutinize those roles, the piece suddenly gained clarity for me.