Mediterende filosoof 1774 - 1789

Curator: Look at the weight of history pressing down. He seems weary, reflective. Editor: Indeed. This is "Meditating Philosopher" by Jean-Pierre Norblin de la Gourdaine, an etching and engraving likely completed between 1774 and 1789. Curator: The image itself evokes a specific tradition of representing wisdom, an aged sage lost in thought. Observe his posture. He is not posed heroically or dynamically. Instead, there’s an internal focus, almost resignation, in the hands resting in his lap. He looks like countless other figures over time that remind of our collective history. Editor: Absolutely. And the baroque style framing combined with the choice of engraving and etching speaks volumes about access to knowledge in the late 18th century. A print such as this makes this image and the ideas embodied available outside of an elite class who would have owned oil paintings, it becomes a tool to elevate those on the fringes of power. Who has access to wisdom and what gives access, is it innate like the portraits would suggest or obtained via class standing? Curator: Exactly. It also triggers that memory. What’s intriguing is how Norblin uses linear work, creating a sense of depth, the details etched in that let it seem we are entering his psyche as a vessel, and those hands – rough but held carefully together. It's symbolic, the convergence of body and spirit, even his dress that is tattered but complete. This image pulls us toward this kind of contemplation on collective knowledge. Editor: I'm compelled by the use of chiaroscuro in an engraving. This is a medium normally not conducive to creating soft, rounded figures, but the lighting focuses attention and imbues him with a kind of iconic status. Curator: He seems a figure in transit, almost a traveler of mind as it crosses beyond our understanding, as they stand always. His position, almost a meditative practice of time, still reminds the eye, but not to dwell. We will meet it once we come across it in history. It has a presence there in the mind. Editor: Right, its not always in his control to stand, sometimes we make him up. Perhaps, instead, it urges us to question whose histories and wisdom get preserved, shared, and honored, then and now. Thank you for lending insight today! Curator: It has been insightful, truly. The past always echoing.