After a Long March, Francesco I d'Este Passes with the River of Cassano with his Army, thus Causing Great Harm to the Spanish, from L'Idea di un Principe ed Eroe Cristiano in Francesco I d'Este, di Modena e Reggio Duca VIII [...] 1659

Curator: This engaging print, made in 1659 by Bartolomeo Fenice, comes from a larger illustrated biography memorializing the Duke of Modena, Francesco I d'Este. It depicts an episode titled "After a Long March, Francesco I d'Este Passes with the River of Cassano with his Army, thus Causing Great Harm to the Spanish." Editor: Harm indeed! The scene feels almost apocalyptic with those puffs of smoke scattered across the landscape. The soldiers are these tiny, regimented lines, yet somehow the artist conveys a real sense of the chaos and relentless march of war. Curator: You've picked up on something crucial there. What appears at first glance as a purely celebratory historical scene also gives us a sense of the scale and impact of 17th-century conflict. Notice how Fenice uses the landscape itself, with that receding river and dramatic perspective, to emphasize the army’s long and arduous journey. Editor: It’s amazing how much information is packed into such a small engraving. It feels both detailed and distanced at the same time. Look at those tiny figures on horseback in the foreground, observing their forces! Curator: Those figures, I think, symbolize leadership and control. It's interesting that they are set apart, both literally and figuratively, from the chaotic battle unfolding behind them. They're the strategic minds overseeing a calculated campaign. Editor: Calculated, perhaps, but there's also a sense of... resignation in those distant plumes of smoke. All that destruction laid out like an unrolling carpet. Curator: That is a potent reading. And I believe that tension–between celebration and grim acknowledgment—speaks to the complexities inherent in representing war through art, particularly when commemorating a figure of power. The image serves both as history and as political propaganda. Editor: Precisely. Art with an agenda. It makes you wonder about all those unpictured stories amidst the tiny soldiers in the march. Ultimately, a glimpse into the controlled spectacle and cost of war, etched in fine detail. Curator: A fitting conclusion, capturing how Fenice’s historical portrayal opens doors for multiple reflections on power and the human condition.