Figure Study c. 19th century

Editor: This is Marcelle Baudey's "Figure Study" from the Harvard Art Museums. The knight on horseback, rendered in pencil, has a strange tension about it. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see a reimagining of power. The imagery of knighthood, historically associated with European dominance, is here embodied by a figure whose race is not explicitly discernible, yet coded by other features. Who does this iconography serve, and who is excluded by it? Editor: So, it's about questioning the traditional narratives of heroism? Curator: Precisely. Baudey seems to ask us to consider the accessibility of these roles. Is this a critique of historical exclusion or a reclamation of power? How does the landscape function in this statement? Editor: That's a different way to look at it. I was caught up in the surface details but now I see the deeper implications. Curator: Exactly, considering art as a reflection and an instigator of social change is crucial to understanding its impact.