Vrouwelijke personifcatie van element lucht als godin Juno met pauw 1648 - 1664

Curator: This engraving, dating from around 1648-1664, presents a "Vrouwelijke personificatie van element lucht als godin Juno met pauw" – or a female personification of the element air as the goddess Juno with a peacock. Cornelis van Dalen the Younger is the artist. Editor: My first thought? This piece is serenity defined. It feels like sinking into a cloud. Airy, almost dreamlike with that crowned figure lounging so elegantly. Curator: Indeed, that's Juno, queen of the gods. See how Dalen uses the clouds not just as background but as a throne, visually linking her power with the air itself? The oval frame encloses her and gives us a window into a celestial realm. Editor: The limited shading, though. It's striking in its subtlety. There aren’t many super crisp details. The goddess and peacock look to be emerging organically from that cumulus seat. What is going on with her foot? Curator: True, Dalen favors soft gradations to delineate form. The engraving captures light and shadow without harsh lines. And about the foot - perhaps that foot is stepping on the Earth. Editor: Allegorically, the clouds serve as Juno's chariot, she is traveling, yes. I love how her pose exudes relaxed dominance. Juno embodies power, but here she’s so unbothered about it! More than that, though, she owns it without effort, like air. And then there's the peacock, a symbol of vanity, or even immortality, depending on how you want to read it. Curator: Right! And consider this artwork against the backdrop of the Baroque. While ornate, the Baroque period was about theatricality, movement. Here we have poise and measured elegance. There's a still grandeur here. The details, while limited, all feel like a story about nature. Editor: Seeing this today, there's an interesting dance happening between representation and abstraction, you know? The symbolic content of Juno is obvious, but with so few hard outlines she ends up representing an elemental force and an embodied being. The elements can work through a single, female form, I think that's quite special. Curator: Precisely. It showcases an era where deities and the natural world were intimately entwined and reminds us that this union could take multiple forms. Editor: Right. "Vrouwelijke personificatie van element lucht als godin Juno met pauw", it gives us so much more to consider.