Coriolanus (blad rechts) 1648 - 1711

Curator: So, here we have an engraving entitled "Coriolanus," attributed to Etienne Baudet. It’s thought to have been made sometime between 1648 and 1711. What's your take as you look at it? Editor: Stark. It feels dramatically stark, all those pleading figures starkly contrasted against this rather imposing warrior figure. It almost feels a bit theatrical, a bit like stagecraft in visual form. Curator: It’s fascinating, isn’t it? The theatricality works really well. Technically speaking, notice how Baudet uses the linear quality of the engraving to convey the weight of the narrative. It feels very baroque with some clear influences of academic art. Editor: You know, what strikes me is how the emotions are laid bare. Look at the desperate reaching, the downturned faces... they really do pull at your heartstrings, or attempt to, at least. But there's something distancing too, the smoothness perhaps, the somewhat stylized postures, or simply the black and white… Curator: It’s the historical distance, I suspect. And yet, isn't it compelling how the artist attempts to humanize this historical moment? You can feel their attempt to find a language for these themes despite the rigid historical visual culture, you see how figures occupy the pictorial space. It almost looks cinematic, which is surprising, no? Editor: Absolutely. I keep coming back to the figures; it makes me think about how history, and the engraving itself, kind of flattens individuals, archetypes for lessons in leadership and human relations through drama, no? Curator: It gives you a great idea about that moment in history. I think this engraving invites reflection on how we interpret the past and represent the human experience and how a historical scene has the capacity to impact a contemporary observer. Editor: Right. I came to the piece noticing mainly what appears almost at once and, ultimately, ended up reflecting more deeply on its capacity to invite multiple, equally possible readings. Curator: Agreed. These layered and diverging views, however tentative they might be, bring in even newer appreciation of the artist’s practice in approaching figuration through these methods.