The Family c. 18th century

Curator: This is Pierre Alexandre Aveline’s “The Family," a print currently housed here at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It has such a dreamlike quality, doesn't it? The contrast between the light and shadow is stunning and immediately draws the eye. Curator: The composition certainly directs our gaze, but I find myself wondering about the paper itself, the likely source, and the labor involved in creating such a print, and how it would have been consumed. Editor: And I’m wondering about that idyllic scene! The woman playing the flute, the children riding the goat, the overall representation of familial happiness… Curator: But was this happiness available to all? Considering Aveline’s position within the Royal Academy, we might examine this in terms of class and privilege. Editor: Yes, and the figures themselves are so elegantly posed; there's a clear visual harmony at play with the lines of the trees echoing the figures' postures. Curator: I suppose for me, the real value lies in understanding the conditions that made such idealized images possible. Editor: And for me, it’s about recognizing the timeless elegance captured within its lines and forms.