Fame 1649 - 1650

Curator: This etching, “Fame,” dates back to 1649-1650. It’s by Stefano della Bella, and resides now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Editor: Whoa, she's really beltin' it out, isn’t she? A little hard to see her with those light strokes, but…is that, like, raw ambition blasting through a Baroque megaphone? Or maybe I'm just projecting. Curator: Well, allegorically speaking, the figure *is* Fame. Notice how she's winged, how the wind catches her drapery? These are visual cues indicating swift movement, boundless reach. She's omnipresent, and carries her message far. Editor: Sure, omnipresent. All I'm seeing is slightly out-of-breath and trying to look important. The trumpet helps. It adds drama, though the wings, in this hazy light, make her seem like a frantic moth. Curator: I see a bit more. Trumpets in art historically symbolize pronouncements and declarations. Here, that might tie into themes of social recognition and memory—the recording of achievements. What strikes me is the Baroque flair—the dynamic pose, dramatic light… Editor: Baroque does bombast better than most. The delicacy of line for an etching—it's beautiful, that careful detail, the way the folds cascade…makes me wonder what the honk of ‘Fame’ really sounds like. Is it fanfare or just static? I suspect something more nuanced is being hinted at here. Curator: Perhaps Bella intended to provoke that ambiguity. Fame itself is rather slippery. What gets remembered, and *why*... it all carries this fascinating, mutable weight across history. Editor: Totally. A whisper, a shout... either way, someone is left doing the shouting. So next time you're puffing your own horn—imagine our friend here: equally earnest, equally lost in her task, flapping furiously against an indifferent sky. Food for thought. Curator: Indeed. It also prompts reflection on what, in the present day, has supplanted those historical ideas, images, and allegories. Editor: Right? Like, who even blows trumpets about 'fame' anymore? Is that just internet noise these days? Or a meme? It feels so dated now, that trumpet lady! But in the best possible way, obviously.