Elysium & Tartarus, or The State of Final Retribution 1792 - 1808

Editor: This is "Elysium & Tartarus, or The State of Final Retribution" by James Barry, made sometime between 1792 and 1808. It looks like an engraving. It's intensely detailed and very crowded, and the longer I look the more unsettling it becomes. What's your take on this work? Curator: Oh, isn't it delicious? The pure romantic drama! Barry certainly wasn't shy. It’s grandiose, isn’t it? All those writhing bodies. Half the canvas is just a teeming mass of the blessed or the damned. What does it make you think about when you compare the left, Elysium, with the right, Tartarus? Editor: Well, obviously heaven versus hell, but it feels like more than just reward and punishment. The figures in Elysium look rather passive, whereas those in Tartarus seem incredibly active, even though they're suffering. It’s almost like they have more agency. Curator: Exactly! Perhaps Barry's suggesting that even in torment, there's a spark of… what, rebellion? Vitality, maybe? Whereas, the ordered serenity of Elysium feels… static, doesn't it? And look at the figure in the middle, sort of presiding over the whole thing. Editor: He's HUGE! And the armor…is that supposed to be Justice or something similar? It’s so strange! Curator: Justice, perhaps. Authority definitely. Now consider the era: Revolution was in the air, societal hierarchies were being questioned, so who *decides* who ends up where? Maybe that imposing figure represents something Barry questioned himself. Isn't it thought-provoking? What at first seems like a straightforward moral lesson twists into something far more ambiguous. Editor: Definitely more ambiguous. I came in thinking it was hellfire and brimstone, but now it's all these interesting questions! It's so fascinating how much is packed into this image, both literally and figuratively. Curator: Indeed! It is in these layers and their attendant ambiguities where art, at its finest, comes alive!