The Prince - Gregoire Gagarine c. 19th century

Editor: This is Horace Vernet's "The Prince - Gregoire Gagarine", housed here at Harvard Art Museums. The figure's theatrical pose gives off such a mood of self-assuredness. How do you interpret this work? Curator: For me, it whispers of performance, doesn't it? The delicate rendering feels almost like a fleeting impression, as if Vernet captured a royal mid-rehearsal. Are we seeing the man, or the persona? Editor: That's an interesting point. It's hard to say where the performance begins. Curator: Indeed, and perhaps Vernet is inviting us to consider just that. It's a dance between image and identity, wouldn't you say? A question of how we all curate ourselves for the world. Editor: I agree, I hadn't considered that. Thanks for shedding light on that.