Samson Carrying the Gates, from "Dalziels' Bible Gallery" 1881

Editor: This is Frederic Leighton's engraving, "Samson Carrying the Gates, from Dalziels' Bible Gallery," created in 1881. There's such dramatic tension in it! The way Samson is bending under the weight—it feels less like a triumphant feat and more like a burdened task. What strikes you when you look at this? Curator: Oh, burden, definitely. It reminds me of those moments when the sheer force of will just barely gets you through. You know, like that last mile of a marathon where every muscle screams, but you're propelled by something deeper. Notice the gate itself – it’s so monumental and angular against his rounded, strained form. Leighton captures that feeling of relentless pressure so brilliantly through the stark contrast of dark and light, too. What do you make of the setting? Editor: It’s sparse, almost desolate. Makes you focus solely on Samson's struggle. I’m also thinking about the implications...like, is this strength or stubbornness we’re seeing here? Curator: Ah, precisely! That ambiguity, that moral tightrope walk, is what makes Leighton's work so potent. It’s a reminder that power can be both a gift and a crushing weight, a freedom and a prison. And maybe, just maybe, that true strength lies in knowing when to put the gates down. What a metaphor for the complexities of leadership. Editor: That's given me a whole new way of looking at the artwork. I came in seeing only this strong, mythical man but now it has opened my mind. Thank you. Curator: Absolutely! That is the best part of viewing art—that endless ability to turn our known worlds on their heads!