Apotheose van een dichter c. 1673 - 1725

Giovanni Battista Maderna created this drawing, Apotheosis of a Poet, using pen and gray ink, around the late 18th century. The cultural and intellectual milieu of the late 1700s—marked by Enlightenment ideals and a renewed interest in classical antiquity—provided fertile ground for artists like Maderna to explore themes of glory, immortality, and the elevation of human achievement. Here, Maderna constructs a vision of patriarchal hierarchy that is common for the time, where only men reach apotheosis. A poet, presumably male, ascends to join allegorical figures in the heavens. His achievements earning him a divine status. This image is emotionally charged, asking us to consider who gets remembered, celebrated, and canonized in society. The drawing invites reflection on whose stories are deemed worthy of elevation and remembrance. It urges us to consider our own emotional responses to this visual representation of power, recognition, and historical legacy.