Antinous 

Editor: So, this engraving is after a sculpture of Antinous, a favorite of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, created by Giovanni Battista Piranesi. It strikes me as a rather somber depiction. There’s a sort of pensive quality in the way the figure’s head is bowed. What do you make of this Piranesi piece? Curator: Pensive is a wonderful observation. I wonder if Piranesi wasn’t just capturing the likeness, but also meditating on the nature of longing, beauty and loss – given Antinous’s early and rather tragic demise. Look at the crisp, clean lines... the *precision* of the rendering. It echoes the Neoclassical obsession with ideal forms, doesn't it? A reaching for an impossible perfection… Like trying to capture smoke, eh? Editor: So, the medium – being an engraving – reinforces this idealization through its sharp lines? Curator: Precisely! The very act of translating a three-dimensional form into a two-dimensional print strips away some of the sculpture’s inherent imperfections, highlighting instead the clarity of line and the intellectual pursuit of ideal form. What does his extended hand seem to signify for you? Editor: I'm not sure. Almost like an offering… or maybe a gesture of acceptance? Curator: Perhaps. Or, hear me out... a yearning? A palpable desire for something just beyond grasp. Food for thought, right? Editor: Definitely. I initially just saw a stoic figure, but thinking about the 'yearning' brings out a totally different feel in the portrait. Curator: These little mysteries are why I keep coming back to art... aren't they wonderful?