Francesco I d'Este Takes Particular Care to Ensure that Justice is Observed, from L'Idea di un Principe ed Eroe Cristiano in Francesco I d'Este, di Modena e Reggio Duca VIII [...] 1659

Editor: This etching from 1659, by Bartolomeo Fenice, is titled "Francesco I d'Este Takes Particular Care to Ensure that Justice is Observed." I'm struck by the formality of the scene, the way the architecture seems to box everyone in, despite the promise of justice. What grabs your attention when you look at this? Curator: The tension between the stage-like setting and the raw depiction of power. Doesn't it remind you of a theater set, all columns and imposing figure? Yet, the lines are so fragile, like the etching barely contains the scene's energy. What do you think Fenice is trying to say by staging the Duke in this manner, almost flaunting his power so deliberately? Editor: Perhaps the very act of "ensuring justice" becomes a performance? I mean, look at the Duke's posture—it's so theatrical! Is it about actual fairness, or simply the appearance of it? Curator: Precisely! And consider the history; Fenice made this print as part of a series idealizing Francesco I d’Este. Can we trust an image created with a specific agenda? Maybe Fenice is inviting us to question the very nature of princely "virtue" that's on display. How does that sit with you? Editor: It feels…cynical, almost. But smartly cynical. This print makes me want to read between the lines. So much propaganda back then – fascinating and disturbing! Curator: Propaganda, perhaps. Or perhaps, artful commentary disguised as propaganda. It dances between reverence and critique. Editor: I never thought I’d find so much to unpack in such a small etching. Thanks! Curator: The joy of art, my friend, is precisely this continuous unraveling. The dialogue never truly ends.