Tomb Monument and Detail c. 1790

Editor: This is John Bacon the Elder's "Tomb Monument and Detail" from around 1790, a drawing done with graphite and printed on paper. It’s striking how neoclassical the whole composition feels, very somber and idealized. What social and historical factors do you think influenced a piece like this? Curator: It's fascinating to consider the social context of memorial art in the late 18th century. Neoclassicism, with its emphasis on order and virtue, often served as a visual language for commemorating figures in ways that reinforced societal values and even, dare I say it, hierarchies. How do you perceive the role of institutions, like the Church, in shaping the demand and reception of such works at that time? Editor: I suppose they played a large part, dictating tastes. Those mythological elements, the unicorns on either side of the relief… were those purely symbolic, or did they convey something more specific about who these monuments were for? Curator: Good question! Symbols certainly held meaning beyond the purely decorative. The unicorn in this time represented purity, grace, and possibly power. When integrated into tomb designs, they suggested the supposed virtues the deceased may have had. Did such idealized imagery help normalize specific ideas about ideal lives in Georgian society? Editor: That’s a fascinating perspective. It makes you wonder who gets remembered and how. I hadn't considered the possibility that commemorative art serves a broader, almost political, function in solidifying social values and expectations. Curator: Precisely. We need to question who or what these images benefit and, simultaneously, what narratives become obscured. Hopefully, examining such artwork enables discussions regarding its public role and reception back then, as well as the legacy that persists today.