Plate 113: The Greeks Battling the Trojans (Graecorum Troianorumque concursus), from Ovid's 'Metamorphoses' 1606

Curator: What we have here is Antonio Tempesta's "Plate 113: The Greeks Battling the Trojans," an engraving dating back to 1606. Part of his series illustrating Ovid's 'Metamorphoses.' Editor: My immediate impression is of chaos. A furious whirlwind of bodies and horses caught in a dance of destruction. The intense use of line creates a dizzying sense of movement. Curator: Indeed. The engraving depicts the clash between Greeks and Trojans, embodying a pivotal narrative deeply embedded in Western culture. Note the repeating shields that imply divine intervention and cyclical returns in the theatre of war. Editor: Observe how Tempesta uses the density of hatching to differentiate planes within the composition. The foreground is much darker, creating an immediate sense of depth even in this very flat, linear work. Curator: The image acts as a visual shorthand. We recognise the iconic clash of civilizations through helmets, weapons, horses - universal motifs evoking narratives of heroism and sacrifice and, of course, conflict. The Roman audience to which Tempesta speaks would see themselves as inheritors of these archetypes. Editor: What I find striking is the dynamic tension between the individual figures and the overall compositional chaos. It almost suggests a Baroque sensibility imposed onto a Renaissance framework. Each figure locked into dynamic relation by an energetic system of crossing lines, lending it a manic character. Curator: War's nature: order broken, chaos unleashed. It is through understanding such persistent depictions we begin to fathom war's persistent hold over the collective psyche and its legacy upon the grand stage of civilisation. Editor: The piece is undeniably engaging, offering an inexhaustible play of surfaces that almost suggests infinite depths and spaces opening through crosshatched light and shadow, making for a frenetic and unforgettable encounter.