Ein Krieger vor einer Göttin auf Wolken 

Pieter Tanjé made this drawing of a warrior before a goddess on clouds with pen and brown ink sometime in the first half of the 18th century. The image presents us with a scene of classical heroism, though it seems to be missing its narrative. Tanjé worked in the Netherlands, a culture steeped in the artistic traditions of the Dutch Golden Age, but he, like many of his contemporaries, looked to France and Italy for inspiration. You can see this influence in the classical imagery and the airy, elegant style of the drawing. The goddess on the cloud and the warrior with his spear could be characters from classical mythology, perhaps an allegory for the virtues of leadership. The ruined architecture and somewhat fantastic landscape also hint at the influence of Italianate art. Historians interested in the social life of art would ask how drawings like these functioned in the 18th-century art world. Were they studies for larger works? Were they presentation pieces meant to be collected and displayed? These are the kinds of questions that help us understand the place of art in society.