Ermance 1775

Curator: This is "Ermance," a piece by Louis Michel Halbou, made sometime between his birth in 1730 and death in 1809. It's a print, housed at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It feels like a scene from a play! A dramatic, almost comedic tableau of illness and… well, what exactly is happening? Curator: From my perspective, it seems to depict a medical consultation, perhaps even an intervention, in a domestic setting. The central figure, Ermance, is clearly unwell, surrounded by concerned or perhaps merely curious onlookers. Editor: I wonder about the social dynamics at play here. Who gets access to care? Who decides what constitutes illness? And why is this scene so public, so observed? Are we meant to sympathize, or to scrutinize? Curator: Maybe both. Halbou captures a moment of vulnerability, but also, perhaps, a critique of the spectacle surrounding illness, particularly for women, in a patriarchal society. Editor: Indeed. It makes you think about whose gaze is privileged in the rendering of these narratives of illness and recovery. It's all so performative. Curator: And perhaps that performance is, in itself, a kind of commentary. Food for thought!