Portret van Karel van Mallery 1627 - 1691

Curator: Here we have "Portret van Karel van Mallery," a drawing currently housed here at the Rijksmuseum, created sometime between 1627 and 1691 by an anonymous artist. It’s rendered with charcoal and pencil on paper. Editor: My first thought? Melancholy. He’s got that world-weary look in his eye. Almost like he’s seen one too many art exhibitions, you know? Curator: Precisely! The artist captures a very intimate portrayal. While the artist remains unknown, the social status communicated by van Mallery’s elaborate ruff collar is evident. It suggests wealth, prestige, and possibly affiliation with intellectual circles of his time. Editor: I love how the starkness of the charcoal emphasizes the textures – the curls in his hair, the folds of his ruff. You can almost feel the fabric. But it's more than just skill, there is also some type of raw, immediate connection to the sitter that comes through in the expression. Curator: True, and portraiture during the Baroque period often aimed to project status, influence, and wealth, but this drawing moves beyond that. Look closely and one notices an air of pensiveness, perhaps even vulnerability, beneath the trappings of status. Editor: It feels so... unfiltered. Unlike some grand, posed portrait where everyone's trying to look their best, here there’s a sort of... rawness? It makes me wonder, was this a quick sketch done on a whim? Or did they know each other well? It feels so intimate. Curator: Well, the use of charcoal and pencil does allow for quick capturing of likeness and immediate emotional states. While the background is plain, even blurred, that concentrates focus on Van Mallery’s psychological presence. This contrasts with the formal, rigid conventions typical in the more grandiose oil paintings. Editor: Exactly. It is those smudges and blended strokes that give it such life, really capturing that fleeting moment of being, a ghost in the machine or some equivalent, as the Baroque did not have machines, only ghosts... or something! The soft gradations around his eyes—it speaks to me of countless stories. I’m lost in contemplation! Curator: An intriguing paradox: The meticulous, academic Baroque style revealing a soul bared, rather than simply reflecting a polished façade for public view. The drawing makes visible inner dialogues, as accessible now as when it was first drawn. Editor: It certainly makes you think, doesn’t it? Almost like the artist left space for us to project ourselves into the narrative. A mirror reflecting not just van Mallery, but ourselves too. Thank you for such insight! Curator: My pleasure entirely!