Pharaon 1634 - 1645

Editor: So, this engraving, “Pharaon,” created sometime between 1634 and 1645 by Gilles Rousselet, strikes me as… unusual. The figure of Pharaoh feels almost theatrical, and then the architecture in the background just adds to that strangeness. What catches your eye when you look at it? Curator: Immediately, the combination of symbols leaps out. We see classical Roman armour juxtaposed with what is meant to represent ancient Egyptian imagery: pyramids and obelisks, of course, but rendered through a distinctly European lens. Do you see the somewhat awkward, performative quality of that? Editor: I do now that you mention it. It's like he's wearing a costume rather than depicting something genuine. Curator: Exactly. Think about the cultural memory embedded within representations of power. Why Rome instead of Egypt? Why the flamboyant headdress that resembles less a pharaoh's nemes and more like the fanciful feathered creations that court figures donned? Editor: I guess it’s trying to translate a foreign power into terms a 17th-century European audience could understand? Curator: Precisely. It’s not really about representing the historical Pharaoh; it's about crafting a European ideal of exotic, powerful, even somewhat barbaric rulership. What feelings does it invoke for you now? Editor: Now, knowing all that, it feels a bit like a political statement about power, or at least how power was perceived back then. It's fascinating how images can be loaded with that sort of cultural baggage. Curator: Indeed. Visual symbols function as cultural shorthand; they carry tremendous weight through time, revealing how societies understand and often *misunderstand* one another. This is an image deeply rooted in its specific time. Editor: Definitely a new perspective for me to consider. Thanks!