Sculptuur van een gewonde Achilles door Innocenzo Fraccaroli, tentoongesteld op de Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations van 1851 in Londen 1851

This is an image of Innocenzo Fraccaroli's sculpture of a wounded Achilles, exhibited at London's Great Exhibition of 1851. The Great Exhibition was a celebration of industrial progress, and a symbol of Victorian Britain's global reach and imperial power. But what does it mean to display a wounded warrior in this context? Achilles, the ultimate symbol of martial strength, is shown here in defeat, his vulnerability exposed. Fraccaroli’s sculpture invites us to reflect on the human cost of war and the limits of even the greatest power. It's a potent reminder that beneath the veneer of progress and civilization lie enduring truths about human experience. To understand this artwork more fully, we might turn to historical accounts of the Great Exhibition, studies of Victorian attitudes toward classical sculpture, and analyses of the changing representation of war and heroism in 19th-century art. Only then can we understand the complex social and cultural forces that shaped this image.