Venus and Ascanius, after de Boisfremont 1817

Editor: This is Giovanni Beltrami's "Venus and Ascanius, after de Boisfremont", a small plaster relief. It's so tiny! What can you tell me about the process and materials used to create it? Curator: It's fascinating how Beltrami reinterprets de Boisfremont's design using plaster. Consider the implications of this shift. Plaster, being more accessible and easily molded than perhaps the original material, democratizes the image. What does this shift in material suggest about the intended audience and its consumption? Editor: So, it's about making art more available, and less about the high art context? Curator: Precisely! Think about the labor involved in mass-producing plaster casts versus unique sculptures, and the role this played in disseminating classical imagery. The material speaks to a new form of art consumption. Editor: That's a really interesting point; looking at the object in terms of its production and consumption changes everything!