Fortune flying above the globe, partly naked, emptying a purse in her raised right hand and holding a staff in her left, a winged putto pulling her forelock, after Reni 1655 - 1680

Curator: Girolamo Scarsello's print, made sometime between 1655 and 1680 after an original by Guido Reni, is called "Fortune flying above the globe, partly naked, emptying a purse in her raised right hand and holding a staff in her left, a winged putto pulling her forelock." The work is an engraving. What’s your immediate response to it? Editor: The swirling lines! They immediately create a sense of dynamism and instability. Even though the subject is allegorical, there’s an urgency conveyed by the hatching and the figure's precarious stance atop the globe. Curator: Precisely! Observe the composition. Fortune's diagonal pose bisects the picture plane, establishing a visual hierarchy between the earthly sphere below and the ethereal heavens above. The dense, almost chaotic, linework around the clouds contrasts sharply with the relative clarity of the globe. This creates visual tension, suggesting the turbulent nature of fate itself. Editor: Absolutely, and the symbolic weight of each element. We have the obvious symbolism of Fortune dispensing wealth— or lack thereof—but notice how she is pulled forward by the hair. This alludes to the idea that Fortune must be seized in the moment or lost forever. She’s an allegorical representation of opportunity and its fleeting nature. And the staff? Curator: The staff can be interpreted as a symbol of power and guidance. Though she offers fortune, she ultimately guides it. The globe beneath her feet suggests her dominion over earthly affairs. The purse, inverted, and the coins scattering speak of the arbitrary, and often capricious, distribution of wealth. Editor: It's such a fascinating cultural artifact. In baroque imagery, such depictions would serve as reminders of life’s uncertainties. Curator: I agree. What truly captures the Baroque aesthetic is how these representational objects form an intellectual construction that transcends pure decoration and invites further questioning. What power do symbols hold? Do such visual programs work in modernity, I wonder? Editor: Symbols continually evolve. This Baroque formulation, while rooted in its own time, laid the groundwork for later allegorical personifications, enriching art and shaping cultural consciousness for centuries to come. Curator: Indeed. Scarsello's technical skill transforms what could be a simple illustration into a meditation on structure, fortune, chance, and power, leaving a lasting impact on how we perceive the visual world.