Illustration XXXI c. 16th century

Curator: This is "Illustration XXXI," an anonymous work currently housed at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It's... interesting. So much is going on, yet it feels restrained, almost diagrammatic. A bit unsettling, actually. Curator: The imagery certainly does demand attention. We see figures labeled Orpheus, Iulus, Sibylla, Muses, and Aeneas. Below them, a cart marked "Fortuna" seems to be leaking liquid. Editor: Leaking fortune! Is that a bad omen? Maybe they're suggesting fame and influence are fleeting, spilling out like water. Curator: Quite possibly. The arrangement of these figures, their gestures and attributes, likely encodes a very specific set of cultural and philosophical ideas. Editor: I like that it's so densely packed with symbolism, it encourages you to decode it. It makes me want to know more! Curator: Exactly, it serves as a rich visual memory, prompting us to remember and interpret classical narratives. Editor: It's a nice reminder that art doesn't always have to be beautiful to be deeply, deeply compelling.