The Battle of Dorylaeum 

Editor: Right now, we’re looking at Gustave Dore’s drawing of “The Battle of Dorylaeum”. It’s done in charcoal, all in black and white. It’s incredibly detailed and just jam-packed with figures! It feels really chaotic and dramatic, a bit overwhelming to be honest. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Overwhelming is a good word! I see a kind of ordered chaos, or perhaps chaos trying to find order. Notice how Dore uses light and shadow to almost sculpt the figures out of the darkness. Each warrior seems locked in his own personal struggle, yet they are all part of this vast, historical event. Dore always struck me as such a visual storyteller. Does it evoke any feelings for you, given what the history books might tell us about the Crusades? Editor: I think there is some sense of romanticism to the piece despite the chaos of battle. But is that my projection, or something Dore intended, knowing the atrocities of the Crusades? Curator: Aha, that's the golden question! Dore's religious pieces can really walk this tightrope of devotion and grand spectacle. This illustration, specifically, doesn’t shy away from the brutality, yet, at the same time, it elevates the Crusades into a mythic clash of civilizations. What if Dore intended this to be viewed as neither good or evil, but as merely a pivot in the river of history, flowing eternally toward the sea? Does that change your reading? Editor: That's such a great perspective, that the battle becomes just a pivot in the story, outside of any value judgments. I had really locked on to my perception as a viewer. Curator: Absolutely, we always meet art with our own baggage in tow. But seeing beyond that initial reaction – that’s where the real magic begins!