Robert Nanteuil c. 18th century

Editor: This is Benedetto Eredi's portrait of Robert Nanteuil. What stands out to me is the subject's expression, it feels so direct, so modern almost. What do you see in this portrait? Curator: Note the carefully rendered hair, cascading in ringlets. What do you think the elaborate wig signified in Nanteuil's era, beyond mere fashion? Editor: Status, importance? A performance of power? Curator: Precisely. And Eredi, working later, revives that visual language. Consider how the gaze meets ours; is it inviting, challenging, or something else entirely? The symbols of status are enduring, aren’t they? Editor: They really are. I never thought about wigs as a form of cultural memory before.