Cybele op zegekar getrokken door leeuwen 1695

Editor: This print, made by Augustin Jacques Renard de Saint-André around 1695, is titled *Cybele on a victory chariot drawn by lions*. It looks so theatrical! What first grabs your attention about it? Curator: Oh, the drama! I feel swept up in a pagan dream, something conjured from the earth itself. Do you notice how the formal structure looks like a stage? It has footlights, actors, lush backdrop, and all! The engraver presents this pagan scene for our entertainment, and his virtuoso hatching suggests atmospheric effects for us. Editor: Yes! Like theatre! What do you think he’s trying to say with it, what does it all symbolize? Curator: Cybele is an earth goddess; therefore, these festivities are a recognition of nature's creative forces. To me, the scene explodes with a life-affirming energy that acknowledges carnal desires, and love in many aspects, as sources of power and joy. The bodies seem free from the dictates of courtly behavior. It makes me consider our present-day attitudes to enjoying our bodies. Editor: I hadn't really thought about that. I was busy looking at the lions. Curator: Haha! And isn't that part of its magic? So many different pathways in to an artwork. Do you think that this experience could be updated to speak to contemporary life? Editor: Hmm… interesting question. Maybe it would say, let yourself enjoy your human experiences, whatever they are, in the spirit of Cybele's riotous parade. Curator: Nicely put. I think this old engraving still has a lot to teach us about celebrating our earthly existence.