Titelblad til "Det harmoniske selskabs love" 1743 - 1797

Curator: Immediately striking is the print's overall composition – vertical and rigid. The meticulousness is undeniable, characteristic of engraving. Editor: Indeed. This is the title page for "The Harmonic Society's Laws," dating from between 1743 and 1797 and housed at the SMK. The artist is Terkel Kleve. Curator: A harmonic society? Harmony, line, and form, so very Neoclassical. Notice how Kleve uses line to achieve a crisp rendering? There’s also an incredible emphasis on geometrical form: triangles, cylinders, and sharp rectangular edges defining the base of the plinth. Editor: Observe the iconography. We have a female bust atop a fluted column wreathed in laurel, looking upward toward a radiant triangle, a clear echo of classical ideals, order, and reason, all cornerstones of harmonic order in both art and society. Curator: The radiance could certainly refer to the Enlightenment values that inspired such societies to form. Also note how the bust appears more mortal and less idealized than we might expect given the context. She is very human in her upward gaze. Editor: Do you think there's a latent anxiety then? Harmony strived for but perhaps not easily obtained. Her mortal vulnerability, despite being placed atop a cold, geometric pillar... interesting tension. What is the emotional impact of this linear style? Does it suggest rationality reigning over emotion or suppression and control? Curator: I lean towards control. The society's laws contained within such rigid form... It suggests to me the attempt to bind unruly human interactions through structured, formalized agreement. The line of the engraving seems almost a metaphor for that binding itself. Editor: Ultimately it’s fascinating to observe how the visual language of Neoclassicism lends itself to communicating ideas about order, even while simultaneously acknowledging an element of striving within it. Curator: Right, and the dialogue between geometric perfection and human fallibility continues to hold power.