Allegorical figure on a cloud with putti, after Stefano Pozzi 1740 - 1802

Editor: So, this is "Allegorical figure on a cloud with putti, after Stefano Pozzi," created sometime between 1740 and 1802. It's a pencil drawing, quite delicate. There's a real lightness to it – almost ethereal, floating amongst the clouds with all the chubby putti. What's your take on it? Curator: Ethereal is a good word! You know, looking at this, I'm reminded of dreams, and how sometimes when you wake, the images start to fade, and you grasp for those wisps of stories that have visited you during sleep. This has that quality: it's representational yet vaporous. Consider how the artist's delicate use of line and shading doesn't solidify the forms but keeps them gently dissolving. Does the Allegorical figure represent an idea to you, maybe, something like Spring or Mercy? Editor: Hmm, perhaps Hope? The way she's holding up those flowers. But who was Giuseppe Canale, and what does 'after Stefano Pozzi' mean exactly? Curator: Canale was a skilled printmaker, a translator of sorts. "After" means he created this work based on a pre-existing design or painting by Stefano Pozzi. It was very common then. The engraver would disseminate another artist’s inventions, making it more widely available. Think of it as art sampling! How do you feel that affects our experience with it? Knowing it’s a copy, of sorts? Editor: It's like seeing a cover version of a song. You appreciate the skill, but it's always in relation to the original. It does give me a different lens through which to view the art. Thank you! Curator: Indeed, thinking about art and dissemination, it's interesting how something ostensibly 'copied' can, itself, offer us something uniquely personal.