Small Boat in Peril (Barque en peril) 

Curator: Let's turn our attention to Alphonse Legros's print, "Small Boat in Peril," also known as "Barque en peril." Editor: Immediately, it feels raw. Stark, almost. Like a half-remembered nightmare etched onto paper. Curator: Legros used etching to bring this dramatic scene to life. It's interesting how he portrays both the immediate drama in the water, and those on land who are witnessing it. I see women huddled on the shore, perhaps relatives. The whole thing makes me think of mortality, of communal grief. Editor: Exactly. Those women feel central to me. We have figures on the fringes of a social order witnessing calamity. Their clothing reads almost as a uniform, emphasizing their shared position outside traditional structures of power, rendered vulnerable in the face of something relentless like the sea. Curator: It does make me think about women and their role in mourning, and more widely about who witnesses tragedy and loss. And it looks so hopeless; those heavy waves look completely overwhelming, even though there is one person still clinging to the boat and trying to row to safety. Editor: Precisely! Who bears witness is crucial. The piece gestures toward larger histories of disaster, precarity, the ways communities are forced to the margins. The stormy scene really enhances this idea; is this specific or an imagined every-storm, every danger faced by those most exposed? Curator: Perhaps it speaks to the universal nature of loss. Legros allows the details of that tiny boat to disappear almost, swamped by the overwhelming waves and also by the heavy outlines on the robes of the watchers on the shore. I'm reminded of how history focuses on grand, powerful actors while others simply get swept away. Editor: Right. It is about history—its gaps, silences, who is remembered, who isn't. The way the light catches those waves makes me wonder too; it’s romantic, in a way. Are we being invited to find beauty in the sublime, even amidst devastation? Curator: Maybe we’re meant to find a sort of grim beauty. Either way, "Small Boat in Peril" certainly offers a glimpse into not only a historical tragedy, but also the emotions and people surrounding it. Editor: It also provides us with the tools to engage, question, and continue building narratives. That makes this a worthwhile—and crucial—piece of art.