Twee atlanten 1679 - 1728

Jean-Baptiste de Poilly made this print, titled 'Two Atlases', in France, sometime around the late 17th or early 18th century. The image shows a fragment of architectural decoration, complete with muscular atlases straining under the weight of the entablature, but it also carries symbolic weight. The French monarchy under Louis XIV was obsessed with symbolism, associating itself with classical strength and divine right. Here, the inclusion of the fleur-de-lis—a clear reference to French royalty—alongside classical motifs elevates the monarchy to almost mythological status. It shows the king and the institutions of the state are strong enough to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders, like Atlas. We can examine prints like this, held in public collections, as pieces of cultural history. They reveal much about the values and power structures of the time, acting as both reflections of and contributors to those structures.