Faun with Wounded Foot 

Curator: This panel, currently housed at Dulwich Picture Gallery, presents us with Bartholomeus Spranger’s ‘Faun with Wounded Foot’. It’s like stepping into a forgotten dreamscape. Editor: A dreamscape indeed, though a rather unsettling one. The pervasive golden tones lend a melancholic air to the figures gathered in what appears to be a darkened grotto. Curator: Unsettling yet beautiful, wouldn’t you agree? There's such tenderness in the figures' interactions; a vulnerable faun being tended to, a sense of shared concern... a visual poem, perhaps, about fragility. Editor: The focus on the faun's vulnerability is key. Classical narratives often erase the pain and suffering of marginalized figures. Spranger offers, perhaps unintentionally, a moment of queer sensibility, depicting a male figure receiving intimate care. One has to question who is entitled to our compassion and to explore the complexities of desire and power intertwined within this narrative. Curator: Exactly! The composition is almost theatrical, a stage bathed in amber light, inviting us to ponder deeper meanings and questions; are they divine? Are they lovers? It reminds me of a poem I once read... Editor: The ambiguity invites a wealth of readings, definitely, from ecological devastation signified by the wounded foot of the Faun to challenging heteronormative views, and beyond, to question what kinds of bodies and intimacies are rendered acceptable or palatable, or abject, within wider societal and cultural landscapes. The blackness surrounding the composition gives them no escape, however, and imprisons them in suffering. Curator: Ultimately, the real magic lies in how a simple painting can resonate in so many unexpected ways, offering reflections of our deepest longings, fears, or maybe simply making our subconscious more present. Editor: Precisely. The piece demands an open-minded engagement that invites the audience to wrestle with its ethical and socio-political undertones and prompts viewers to consider their relationship to care, compassion, and societal privilege, within and beyond art history.