Minerva verdrijft Afgunst: een allegorie op zekerheid 1672 - 1726

Editor: This engraving, "Minerva expelling Envy: an allegory of security," by Johannes Glauber, created between 1672 and 1726, feels… intensely theatrical. It’s all dramatic gestures and swirling figures. The fallen figure is very muscular. What exactly is going on here? How do you interpret this work? Curator: Well, theatricality is the lifeblood of Baroque, isn’t it? What we're seeing here is a battle of ideals rendered in ink. The muscular fellow down below, representing Envy, is being cast down – quite literally – by Minerva, goddess of wisdom and strategic warfare. Envy, blinded by malice, falls from grace, expelled from the realm of reason. The putti flitting about amplify the drama. What do you notice about the landscape? Editor: It looks… wild. Reeds, unruly vegetation, like a swamp. Not a place you’d want to build a summer home. Curator: Precisely! Envy festers in untamed places, breeding resentment. Minerva, floating serenely amidst fluffy clouds, embodies a realm of order and clarity. It makes me think of a mind palace, all neatly organized thoughts. She's accompanied by her attributes: owl and aegis. This image tells me envy clouds reason. Editor: So, it's not just a pretty picture; it's a moral lesson? A reminder that envy is self-destructive? Curator: Absolutely! Baroque loved layering meaning like an onion. Did you notice how Envy almost reaches for Minerva's spear but can't? Such an exquisite detail about the impossibility of grasping truth and righteousness when consumed by base feelings. The artwork urges us to embrace reason. It makes one ponder: have I been the fallen one, grappling toward wisdom? Editor: I love how much you can unpack from what at first glance just seemed like a busy engraving. Now, I will never read it that way. Curator: That’s the beauty of art, isn't it? Each encounter, like a secret whispered, reveals a new layer to discover and love!