Liggende Athene. Allegori på videnskaberne 1743 - 1809

Editor: Okay, next up, we have "Liggende Athene. Allegori pa videnskaberne" – or "Reclining Athena. Allegory of the Sciences"—a drawing by Nicolai Abildgaard, created sometime between 1743 and 1809. There's something very cool and calm about this piece. The pose is so relaxed, but surrounded by objects symbolizing intellect. How do you interpret this work? Curator: It’s got that wonderfully restrained neoclassical vibe, doesn't it? But beneath the surface... Well, for me, there’s a real sense of melancholy in this Athena. Surrounded by the instruments of knowledge—the globe, the skull reminding us of mortality—she seems almost burdened by it. It is an image about thinking and knowing, with, you guessed it, some emotion underneath. Almost as if wisdom carries with it an unavoidable weight. Does that resonate at all with you? Editor: Absolutely! I see what you mean, particularly because it is only a drawing – in theory an artwork unfinished. It feels quite introspective rather than triumphant, like you often see in depictions of Athena. Curator: Exactly. It's less about a glorious victory and more about the quiet contemplation that enables such victories. And then, the fluid washes of the drawing feel right to the melancholy feeling, and almost makes us believe in the unfinished nature. In that sense, do you find yourself reflecting on all those people with unrealized knowledge? Editor: Hmmm. It does make me wonder what Abildgaard himself was contemplating while drawing this, and how knowledge or power felt unfinished to him. Thanks. Curator: My pleasure. Each look yields something new. It makes us engage with the history, and our place in it, right? Editor: Precisely. So much more than just another drawing from 18th century, it truly prompts questions that stretch to the present.