Detail from the Ambassadors Departing, after Carpaccio 1887

Curator: I'm immediately struck by the quiet intensity, almost monastic. The earth tones and the light focused on the figures create such intimacy. Editor: This is Denman Waldo Ross's "Detail from the Ambassadors Departing, after Carpaccio," currently housed at the Harvard Art Museums. It captures two figures, one writing, the other gesturing, seemingly engaged in diplomatic preparations. Curator: Diplomatic preparations! That makes sense. I was seeing such private, almost secret world; now that you mention it, their purpose feels so much bigger than just paperwork! Editor: The very act of diplomacy has long been about power, about who gets to speak and who gets to be heard. Ross's decision to focus on this detail could be read as a commentary on that inherent power dynamic. Curator: Yes, a beautiful, quiet study of power as a subtle ritual. I think I am left wondering about the moment he chose to freeze. Editor: Exactly. Art can unveil the power structures embedded in such everyday rituals.