Juno met pauw, staand onder een baldakijn 1551 - 1580

Curator: Right now, we’re standing in front of "Juno met pauw, staand onder een baldakijn," or "Juno with peacock, standing under a canopy." It's an engraving made sometime between 1551 and 1580 by René Boyvin. What are your initial thoughts? Editor: It strikes me as…busy. Overloaded with symbolism. The more I look, the more I feel like there's a hidden language being spoken here. Curator: Exactly! Mannerism often played with density and esoteric knowledge. Look at Juno herself, posed so deliberately. And her peacock, the symbol of her vanity and status. Everything in this print speaks to power and mythological narrative. Editor: That peacock really pops against her nudity! I mean, you can’t really consider Juno without thinking about that potent image, really one of the more recognizable icons from that time. It also speaks to beauty and the cyclical nature of time, and the renewal that springs eternal, right? And here, standing on the clouds; Boyvin elevates the classical world into the realm of pure imagination. Curator: It’s interesting you focus on those images. The peacock does hold that classical charge but also carries themes of vigilance, like eyes all over. But notice how she is centered and standing above these almost menacing, intertwined fantastical creatures. What do you make of those? Editor: Those feel almost alchemical to me! They are a clash between sun and moon, dragon and lion! Representing primal forces tamed, balanced to elevate this classical subject. This engraving is full of duality. It speaks of something much larger than Juno's ego or marital status. Boyvin's really got something here! Curator: The allegory is very explicit. What Boyvin, a printmaker by trade, achieves is rather admirable. There's so much depth. Each time I return, I feel like I’m unraveling something more about us humans. Editor: A dense little world—I see it a bit differently now! This engraving is like an archetypal family portrait, complete with the masks and mythical creatures of our collective unconscious. The peacock really becomes about transformation.