L'Estafette 1847 - 1890

Curator: Let’s pause here for a moment. What’s catching your eye? This is “L’Estafette,” an etching and engraving by John-Lewis Brown. It was made sometime between 1847 and 1890. Editor: Immediately, a sense of urgent motion. The frantic energy—it’s all right there in those agitated lines. But there’s also a kind of wild romanticism. Like a dream speeding away. Curator: I see what you mean about the Romantic sensibility. Brown definitely seems drawn to the drama of the subject matter, and that comes across in the frantic rendering of the scene. The rider and the horse are practically one entity. The estafette, in French, means a mounted messenger. A symbol, really, of urgent communication. Editor: Communication, yes, but also something deeper. Messengers often carry secrets, right? Or critical turning points. This figure feels burdened with news… but is it good or bad? I’m strangely unsettled. Curator: That unease is palpable. The artist captures the weariness, both physical and emotional, etched into every muscle of the horse and every fiber of the rider’s posture. Editor: Look at the rider's expression, too. It’s really hard to make out with so few lines, but he's leaning into the wind. The image reads to me as a memento of some pivotal moment lost to the depths of time. Almost like we’re overhearing an urgent whisper from a forgotten age. Curator: A ghost rider of information, eternally racing to deliver his news. This small print encapsulates such a specific time, when messages traveled this way. It’s fascinating how Brown elevates the humble messenger to something nearly mythical. The material used captures the theme perfectly. Editor: The texture itself adds to the sense of a half-remembered moment. The printmaking is wonderful. The lines look intentionally imperfect, mirroring memory's unreliable quality, like the details might be changing even as you watch. It makes you ponder what message is he actually carrying... Perhaps one we’re not meant to know after all.