Columbus Setting Sail c. 19th century

Editor: This is Edward Goodall's "Columbus Setting Sail," housed at the Harvard Art Museums. It's a very delicate print, almost dreamlike. What symbols or deeper meanings do you find in this particular depiction of Columbus's departure? Curator: Well, consider the ships. They are vessels not merely of transport but of cultural exchange, and of course, conquest. The gathered crowd, barely sketched, represents the collective hope, ambition, and perhaps naivete, vested in this voyage. Editor: Naivete? That's interesting. Curator: Indeed. Doesn't the hazy rendering also suggest the uncertain future that awaited Columbus, a future that was unknown, even to himself? It speaks to the broader human impulse to project our desires and fears onto the unknown. The ships become a vessel of dreams. Editor: I hadn't considered the emotional weight of the unknown. Thank you! Curator: My pleasure. Looking closer can indeed uncover many layers.