Fortune Making a Prince Drink

Curator: This drawing, attributed to Antonio Fantuzzi and created sometime between 1540 and 1560, is entitled "Fortune Making a Prince Drink." Editor: The first impression I get is… fragility. It's all delicate lines, a kind of rosy wash effect—and something about that makes the implied power dynamic more interesting. Curator: Ah, yes, "fragility," a good word. On one side, we have the prince in full military attire, his head bowed. Opposite him, Fortune, naked and winged, sits upon a wheel, offering him a drink from a bowl. The scene plays out against the backdrop of classical architecture, further imbuing the scene with a gravity. The iconography of Fortune as a female figure sitting or standing on a wheel has long symbolized life's capricious nature. Editor: I find myself wondering about the perspective, too. It’s not quite consistent, is it? Look at the temple in the background compared to the figures in the foreground. And is that a suggestion that fortune herself is unsteady or slightly out of kilter? Curator: Quite possibly. Consider how that architectural backdrop, those symbols of permanence and power, are dwarfed by the very present figures of the Prince and Fortuna. I see in her offering both allure and warning. Accepting it binds him to the wheel, making him subservient to luck and chance. He gains power, perhaps, but sacrifices control. The symbolic import is striking here. The act of drinking, receiving the cup, creates a link...a destiny. Editor: That destiny being somewhat perilous! It makes me consider the medium. Ink, in this almost monochromatic rendering, lends itself so well to allegory. I'm looking at the sinuous quality of line against line, how meticulously rendered it is and the choice to place this whole drama in a circular field. It enhances the turning wheel. A semiotic cycle. It brings a heightened awareness of visual language here, in order to amplify meaning. Curator: Exactly. The circle contains them both within Fortune's sphere of influence, a contained drama of destiny accepted. Editor: Looking closely has helped me focus on the intentional paradox: control promised yet potentially lost; an image of soft, fragile execution for a grand narrative on fate. Thanks to the beautiful visual choices here, "Fortune Making a Prince Drink," is certainly much more than just a picture.