Cinyras valt zijn dochter Myrrha aan 1670 - 1682

Curator: Let’s discuss this dramatic print by Jean Lepautre, "Cinyras valt zijn dochter Myrrha aan," made between 1670 and 1682, which can be found in the Rijksmuseum. What are your initial thoughts? Editor: It's intense! The sheer volume of ornate detail is staggering. But it’s more than just showy. The theatrical composition, those rushing figures, really sell the violence of the story. Curator: Exactly. Lepautre masterfully utilizes perspective to amplify the scene’s emotional impact, embedding it in a rigid class and social structure. We’re seeing the story of Myrrha, whose incestuous desires and her father’s resulting rage are laid bare, quite literally and figuratively, against a stage of aristocratic excess. How do the materials themselves play into this? Editor: Being an engraving allows for incredible precision, that hatching and cross-hatching build up not only depth, but also a palpable tension. I’m interested in how this reproduces. It’s a medium designed for dissemination, for multiplying an image that depicts the violent disintegration of a family – almost as a warning, a caution for its audiences. There’s almost something forensic to how precise it is. Curator: I think this print serves as a visual metaphor for societal anxieties surrounding unchecked power and female sexuality. Myrrha’s transgression disrupts the patriarchal order. This work participates in the narratives used to regulate women’s bodies and behaviors, through the reproduction and spread of such tales of cautionary warning. Editor: The level of skilled labor that went into producing that kind of effect…It is fascinating that these prints found their way into homes, shaping opinions. This medium could both elevate a tragic tale into the realm of high art but it’s clear Lepautre aims at spectacle. Curator: It leaves you contemplating not only the skill of the artist, but the darker threads of societal history. Editor: Absolutely, an excellent example of art meeting difficult ideas around production, circulation and visibility, it is so precise in detail and rich in story.