Illustration to the Iliad 1795

Curator: Here we have John Flaxman’s "Illustration to the Iliad," an engraving from 1795, steeped in Neoclassical ideals. It’s executed with a confident, spare line. What strikes you first? Editor: Well, immediately, the wind! I mean, figures literally blowing, propelling... something… forward. There’s such force conveyed despite the almost skeletal simplicity of the line work. It feels, paradoxically, both airy and incredibly determined. Curator: That linearity is so key to understanding Flaxman. He was profoundly influenced by ancient Greek vase painting, distilling form to its purest essence. Look at how he suggests volume and movement with such economy. The blowing figures, clearly deities… Editor: The winged helmets give them away, don’t they? Hermes, perhaps? Are they harbingers of doom or deliverance for the slumped figures beneath? There's an ambiguity there that really hangs in the air. It makes me wonder, what were the dominant interpretations of the Iliad at the end of the 18th century? Curator: Interesting. The Iliad, of course, is a foundational epic, dealing with themes of war, fate, and human fallibility. Flaxman's visual interpretation reduces the sprawling narrative to these core allegorical components. Each element is purposefully rendered: the horizontal lines of sleep, contrasting against the forceful, almost aggressive blowing of the wind. It makes you feel as if destiny is forced upon mortals in the realm of dreams. Editor: Right, like being nudged, not so gently, out of a dream state and propelled into waking life by… fate itself! I notice that those being "blown" upon appear mostly androgynous and, dare I say, like they have little free will. Curator: Flaxman really does present humanity as vulnerable against cosmic forces, something very appropriate to the themes running through the story of the Iliad itself. It speaks to the grand sweep of history that still connects to modern experience and fears. Editor: It certainly invites reflection. One is swept away by inevitable circumstance and must somehow brace themself against its fierce winds. Thanks to Flaxman's visualization, that sentiment echoes with a peculiar kind of beauty.