Close the Ranks 1832

Curator: Auguste Raffet’s “Close the Ranks,” a lithograph from 1832, depicts a scene of French soldiers, perhaps during the Napoleonic era. Editor: My first impression is one of quiet desperation, like holding one's breath before a plunge into icy water. It's a scene steeped in an atmosphere of reluctant resolve, but there are visible causalities on the ground! Curator: It's amazing what Raffet could achieve with lithography, isn’t it? Look at the textures he creates using only stone, grease, and paper. The plumes on their helmets, the rough terrain... almost palpable. Editor: Absolutely, it brings up the question of accessibility in art. Prints like this made such imagery widely available. How do you think the burgeoning print industry altered our relationship with visual storytelling, beyond those who had access to painted works of art? Curator: I suspect that Raffet wanted to tap into a romantic idea about war, portraying them as unified even while injured; almost heroic. Even if, let's face it, romanticizing the machinery and industrial output needed for battle papers over the brutal realities! Editor: Speaking of brutal realities, look closer at the composition: the rigid verticality of the standing soldiers is powerfully contrasted by the horizontal forms of those fallen on the ground. Their equipment would’ve been crafted from mass-produced metal. Are they individuals or are they raw material, a cog to be consumed by the insatiable engine of war? Curator: That is precisely the point. But then, think about the actual *act* of lithography. Pressing paper against stone— a form of mass production of artwork itself, creating thousands of these images! I mean, it’s just wild. The idea of multiple originals… that's some wild philosophical ground there. Editor: In short, “Close the Ranks” speaks volumes about artistic expression, mass-produced media, and what constitutes propaganda, truth or memory. A deceptively profound piece that can leave one to ponder questions on material practice for quite some time. Curator: Right, and maybe, just maybe, to feel a little less alone with those unanswerable questions in the human spirit!