Soldiers on Horseback with Women Prisoners c. 19th century

Curator: Here we have Rodolphe Bresdin’s sketch, "Soldiers on Horseback with Women Prisoners," part of the Harvard Art Museums collection. Editor: It's intensely unsettling. Those women look so vulnerable behind the stoic soldiers. Curator: Bresdin often used stark imagery to critique power structures, which we can see here. Note how the soldiers' rigid formation contrasts the women's disarray. Editor: It also feels dreamlike, like a nightmare you can't shake off. The rapid lines give it a sense of urgent desperation. Curator: Bresdin's work, particularly his etchings, often reflected his own struggles against societal norms and poverty, lending to that feeling of desperation. Editor: It reminds me that art doesn't always have to be pretty; sometimes, it needs to be painful to make us question the world. Curator: Exactly. Bresdin challenges us to confront uncomfortable truths about dominance and subjugation. Editor: It makes you wonder about the narratives we choose to celebrate and those we often ignore.