Benvenuto Cellini's vlucht uit de Engelenburcht 19th century

Editor: Here we have a 19th-century engraving titled "Benvenuto Cellini's Flight from the Castel Sant'Angelo," credited to A. Simon. It definitely has an old-world feel to it; you can sense the drama in the escape itself. What's your interpretation? Curator: Well, isn't it delicious? Think of this print as a miniature stage – all suspense and implied daring! The way the artist plays with light and shadow; you can almost feel the chill of the Roman night and the roughness of that improvised rope. It is more than just an escape; it is an embodiment of the Romantic era's obsession with heroic individualism. Notice anything else tugging at your curiosity? Editor: The contrast, perhaps? The stark white of the rope against the deep shadow is hard to miss, really creating tension as you realize he has got to escape this way or remain stuck inside. It all emphasizes Cellini’s determination... I can feel his urgency! Curator: Precisely! Now imagine Cellini himself, a sculptor and goldsmith of immense talent and equally immense ego. That audacity translates into the scene itself. The print isn’t just *telling* us about an escape, but allowing us to share a little vicariously. Editor: Looking at it now, I'm seeing it less as a snapshot and more as a theatrical moment—all drama. Curator: Absolutely. Perhaps our friend, A. Simon, understood this performance aspect instinctively, using the constraints of printmaking to heighten the drama rather than diminish it. Makes you wonder what Cellini himself would have thought, no? Editor: It does! It gives a new dimension to how artists saw themselves at the time, less artisan and more… daredevil? Thanks.