The Centaur 

Curator: Oh, look! What do you see, what do you *feel* looking at that? It’s Michael Parkes's painting, "The Centaur". Editor: Melancholy. An utter, dreamlike melancholy. That pale light...the sword hanging in the air, like a paused moment before a big decision. It is as if we’re witnessing a pivotal scene from some unwritten myth. Curator: You feel it too, eh? Parkes certainly had a knack for capturing those kinds of loaded moments. It's rendered in acrylic paint, achieving a look of Classical Realism, a popular style in the 80s revival, but something about it reminds me of the Pre-Raphaelites. Do you see it? That symbolic sensibility. It seems as if an entire symbolic system is encapsulated in that tableau! Editor: Definitely, and speaking of symbolism, you have this hybrid creature of the centaur offering, or rather, about to drop a sword—traditionally a symbol of power, conflict, and justice. In art history, especially during times of upheaval, such allegorical works provided artists a veiled platform to address prevailing societal and political currents, sidestepping direct censure. Curator: I suppose. But to me, it's more about something much deeper and interior. See how the centaur’s form is so sturdy and ancient, while the young woman, with wings no less, perches lightly... It’s like she embodies some form of inspiration alighting for just a breath. Editor: True, her gaze holds such a soft wisdom. Her role reminds us how often idealized figures—especially in art history—have served as personifications of complex ideas: victory, liberty, justice... The way she’s presented, riding, yet also clinging, complicates that reading of autonomy. Who is truly wielding the power here? Who or what determines if this sword drops? Curator: Exactly, we can see their strange position, that fragile meeting. The sword is only an object: action is necessary, but choice comes before, a suspended will and potential waiting for some grand gesture... Editor: Well, looking at it this way definitely enhances my understanding, reminding me how deeply art is entrenched in its socio-political moment while allowing space for personal expression. It serves, at once, as social commentary and intimate revelation. Curator: And in its very nature, maybe every artwork invites the completion of the self within and without the painting. What is shown and unseen are combined!