Roll-Call After The Pillage 1866

Curator: What strikes me first is the weary nonchalance in their postures. After, what, doing exactly what? Editor: That question is precisely what Jehan Georges Vibert invites us to consider in "Roll-Call After The Pillage," an oil painting from 1866. Notice the weary faces and how the weight of possible guilt is palpable here. Curator: Absolutely, and what's fascinating is the attire itself. It isn’t one uniform. Each soldier appears to have picked and chosen his armor. It evokes a feeling of individuality within the collective. They present themselves as distinct, almost defiant. It lends each character its own, deep symbol, perhaps unintentionally by Vibert himself. Editor: That individuality clashes starkly with the violence implied by the scene. Pillage inherently strips individuals of their agency and possessions. And that violence disproportionately impacts women and children throughout the war. So I ask you, whom do we see depicted? It feels…convenient. Curator: Indeed. There is something missing here. We lack the echo of trauma in the painting itself. The landscape behind, even in its clouded and blurred rendition, is a sharp contrast. We could perceive the scene as somewhat staged or romanticized; the artist possibly attempted to convey a story with a somewhat softened critique of violence. What do you believe it means to present it in this way? Editor: By sidelining the victims and foregrounding the perpetrators, Vibert might unintentionally be normalizing pillage. Where's the resistance? Where is the rage that surely erupted in such a brutal violation? Even the romantic or academic styles often still hold deeper ethical resonance, a reflection on power and destruction that speaks more openly of their impact. Curator: Yet, it still stirs conversation around themes of conquest and consequence. Editor: It certainly makes one reflect on the stories we choose to immortalize in art and what that says about our collective values. Even today. Curator: Well said.