Figuren rond een allegorisch grafmonument voor Isaac Newton 1735 - 1741

Editor: We’re looking at “Figures around an allegorical monument to Isaac Newton,” an engraving by Louis Desplaces, created sometime between 1735 and 1741. It’s incredibly detailed. All those lines and figures. There’s such grandeur here, but it feels a little cold to me, clinical, maybe because it’s an engraving. What are your initial impressions? Curator: "Clinical" is a fascinating word choice! It captures that Age of Reason, Enlightenment feel perfectly. It’s as though Newton’s legacy isn’t something to be mourned with wild emotion, but something to be analyzed, celebrated intellectually. This isn’t just about grief; it’s about transmitting knowledge, isn’t it? You’ve got figures actively studying diagrams, engaging with the scientific instruments laid out. It feels… didactic. Editor: Yes! Didactic is spot-on. Almost like a science lesson, even at a memorial. What about that beam of light piercing through? Is that symbolic? Curator: Ah, the light! It pierces through, connecting…connecting what, I wonder? We see an eye catching this light at one side and something that looks like a star globe receiving the beam. This represents Newton's understanding of light? Does the architecture play into that as well, maybe suggesting a kind of temple to knowledge? It gives a feeling for scientific revelation that makes me think about philosophy. What do you think? Editor: Definitely a temple. It’s awe-inspiring, really. I think seeing all these figures engaged in learning does emphasize the continuing pursuit of knowledge and, yes, enlightenment. I like that the light literally connects sight and learning. It gives new weight to that overused analogy. Curator: Exactly. We come in mourning but leave enlightened. That seems the intention, doesn't it? Even grief can yield something profound.