Medaille met portret van Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire after 1831

Curator: I'm immediately struck by the severity. There's a neoclassical rigidity that seems to suppress any sense of individual personality. Editor: Well, let's unpack that feeling a bit, shall we? The piece is titled "Medaille met portret van Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire," created after 1831 by Achille Collas. It's a print, specifically a relief engraving, showcasing the naturalist Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire. Perhaps what you perceive as severity is simply a formal, respectful depiction aligned with the values of that time. Curator: Formal and respectful certainly, but perhaps a bit *too* sanitized. Saint-Hilaire was a prominent figure, challenging established ideas about evolution. This image presents a polished, almost idealized version, burying any hint of the intellectual ferment he stirred up. He was in direct opposition with Cuvier about the ideas around evolution and this work feels like erasure. Editor: That's a compelling reading. Knowing he was at odds with Cuvier over evolution contextualizes the portrait quite well. The very form of the medaille invokes classical virtue, echoing Roman portraiture and reinforcing a sense of established authority, exactly what he was pushing back against! Curator: Precisely! The visual vocabulary of neoclassical art emphasizes order and rationality. The circular form recalls ancient coins and medallions which carry their own cultural meaning. These connotations elevate the subject but perhaps ironically, dilute the more radical aspects of his intellectual pursuits. Even if unintentionally, this style feels inadequate to reflect such groundbreaking work. Editor: It’s a reminder that artistic choices, even in portraiture, can shape—or perhaps *constrain*—our understanding of a person. Is the lack of emotion a feature or a bug, so to speak, with neoclassicism as it engages with evolving modern sciences? It makes you wonder about how we remember such a polarizing character. Curator: Yes, definitely something to meditate on. The clean lines of the engraving create a certain emotional distance. Editor: And for me, thinking about that friction between tradition and progress makes this work particularly engaging, not just as an image but as a kind of social document, too.