Minerva Protects Pax from Mars (‘Peace and War’) (3) 1998

Curator: Leon Kossoff, born in 1926, created this print titled 'Minerva Protects Pax from Mars’, also known as ‘Peace and War.’ It is currently held in the Tate Collections. Editor: It feels incredibly turbulent, the frenetic linework almost vibrating with conflict. The composition is so densely packed it’s hard to make out individual forms at first glance. Curator: Indeed. Kossoff’s distinctive impasto technique, typically seen in his paintings, is here translated into the etched line. Consider how the density of the hatching builds tonal depth and form. Editor: Absolutely. The subject matter – the contrast between peace and war – clearly speaks to post-war anxieties and the ever-present threat of conflict in the 20th century, reflecting a yearning for stability. Curator: Yes, the linear dynamism evokes an undercurrent of instability—a formal embodiment of the thematic tensions. Editor: A compelling tension between surface chaos and underlying classical ideals. Curator: I agree—a successful mirroring of theme through form, wouldn't you say? Editor: Precisely. It offers a visceral, rather than purely intellectual, engagement with historical trauma.