Prometheus chained, two pendentives and an egyptian Saint Marie, bound in Monuments des Arts du Dessin, volume 3, plate 234 1829

Editor: Here we have Jules Dagneau's engraving, "Prometheus chained, two pendentives and an egyptian Saint Marie," created in 1829. The image of a bound figure immediately strikes me as… well, a little horrifying, really. All that meticulous linework emphasizing his struggle. What are your thoughts when you look at this, our curator? Curator: Oh, I feel that horror keenly. But within that grim tableau, don't you sense also a stubborn defiance? This Prometheus, so exquisitely rendered with line—almost clinically, don’t you think?—he is suffering, yes, but look at the angle of his body. It's not supine; he is fighting, resisting. Ribera, whose original drawing this engraving interprets, knew something about struggle himself, no doubt. Are you familiar with his work? Editor: I know that Ribera also represented the martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew. His skin was ripped off from his body. Curator: Exactly! This torment… Do you imagine Ribera intended us to see simple despair, or a testament to the human will? Perhaps he even wants us to reflect on our capacity to resist what life inflicts on us. To what extent does that parallel our view of Dagneau? Editor: I hadn’t thought about it that way. Focusing on the… heroic aspect shifts my whole interpretation. Curator: Precisely. It reminds us that even in the darkest moments, some spark of agency remains, doesn’t it? Editor: So it's not just a picture of suffering; it’s a statement about the ability to withstand. Curator: Well put. We’ve both learned something new, wouldn't you agree?