Medea de tovenares 1692 - 1738

Curator: This image, "Medea de tovenares" or Medea the Sorceress, is an etching and engraving by Louis Desplaces, created sometime between 1692 and 1738. The composition itself, even at this miniature scale, strikes me with its theatricality. Editor: Yes, there's definitely a sense of drama! My initial impression is one of controlled chaos. The light and dark play off each other intensely, drawing your eye to Medea, but also suggesting hidden figures and darker, undefined shapes lurking in the background. The faces in the top left—are those demons? Curator: Indeed. It evokes a tradition of representing inner turmoil through external monstrous figures, which served not only to shock, but to materialize the conflicts inherent in a moment of decision like the one facing Medea here. Editor: And what about the iconography? I'm drawn to Medea’s staff, entwined with serpents, suggesting a conduit to darker powers, her loose dress at odds with the attire of the guards, highlighting both her magical skill and her wildness in the social imaginary. Even the brazier from which she's drawing fire looks both practical and symbolic. Curator: Absolutely. It points towards a transformation both literal, like alchemical processes, and societal, indicating Medea's place outside social order, particularly through her engagement with potions and transmutations considered beyond the acceptable bounds of her time and, one can argue, location. Notice also how Medea seems both the source of power and potentially enslaved by it, she mediates these realms and perhaps will be sacrificed to them. Editor: So, it’s less about a historical retelling of the myth and more about leveraging Medea as a figure for the Baroque era’s fears surrounding female agency and power. Curator: Precisely. Desplaces employs Medea’s tale to illustrate anxieties about the potential subversion of social norms through powerful figures and perhaps, indirectly, anxieties around societal changes, and, crucially, the cost that came with societal shifts. Editor: Looking at the print again, it seems Desplaces captured a sense of intense emotional conflict within a neatly organized and stylized frame. An unsettling image indeed. Curator: Yes, a masterful rendition that encourages us to reflect on what we choose to accept in society.