Carriers of Insignie 1675

Editor: This is "Carriers of Insignie," an engraving by Antoinette Bouzonnet-Stella, here at the Harvard Art Museums. The procession feels very classical, like a Roman frieze. What stands out to you in this piece? Curator: This engraving speaks volumes about power and representation in 17th-century Europe. Consider the ways in which classical imagery was used to legitimize authority. How might Bouzonnet-Stella, as a woman artist, be engaging with and perhaps subverting these established visual tropes? Editor: Subverting? I hadn't thought of that. It seems very traditional. Curator: Precisely! The visual language is traditional, but whose stories are typically told in these grand narratives, and who is excluded? Think about the absence of female agency in such displays of military might. Editor: So, by recreating this scene, she's making a statement about women's roles in power structures? Curator: It's a question worth asking. Her very act of creating this image challenges those historical power dynamics. Editor: That gives me a lot to consider; thanks for pointing that out. Curator: It's a pleasure. Art invites us to question everything, especially ourselves.