De eerste consuls zweren de Tarquinii voor eeuwig uit Rome te verbannen 1819

Curator: Up next, we have Bartolomeo Pinelli's 1819 etching, "The First Consuls Swearing the Eternal Banishment of the Tarquins from Rome." Quite a mouthful, isn't it? Editor: It is, but even without the title, you get the gist! It looks so stern, all clean lines and sharp angles. You feel like you’re looking at a history textbook illustration… very sober and moralistic! Curator: Pinelli was a master of Neoclassicism, so that "textbook" feel is very deliberate. He was channeling the ideals of civic virtue and Roman Republicanism in a period of... well, let's just say political upheaval. Editor: Those toga-clad figures, solemnly raising their hands, swearing an oath... It’s all so consciously arranged. Is that the she-wolf with Romulus and Remus above them? Curator: Indeed it is! The Capitoline Wolf. It looms large, literally watching over the founding myth as these consuls perform what they believe is a sacred act. They are banishing the corrupt monarchy—the Tarquins—to secure the Republic's future. Notice how everyone faces forward as if a statue. Editor: A symbol of Rome itself, keeping guard. I can't help but think about how symbols can be twisted or weaponized. Is it naive of them, or even us, to believe so strongly in anything at all? Or is that conviction the only way progress can be made? Curator: I suspect Pinelli intended that sort of pondering, actually! He was an ardent patriot, deeply invested in Italian unification, yet there’s something stark about the piece. Look closely. You sense how those ideals can easily become... inflexible, authoritarian. Editor: The scene feels almost theatrical. It’s as if history is a stage play that is on repeat. Forever. Curator: Precisely. A history play. A potent moment captured in ink. One can’t help but wonder what’s the point? Editor: Exactly! Symbols carry echoes, after all. It feels almost a threat or warning: swear your allegiances carefully, because you’ll be held to them. Or your moment will also turn into a performance for other's interest or consumption.