Sappers, from Souvenirs d’Italie: Expédition de Rome 1853

Editor: This is "Sappers, from Souvenirs d’Italie: Expédition de Rome," a lithograph by Auguste Raffet from 1853. What immediately strikes me is the almost photographic realism in rendering the details of the soldiers' uniforms and equipment. What do you see in this piece, considering its context? Curator: What jumps out at me is how Raffet uses this group of sappers to represent the experience and continuity of the French military's role in the Roman Expedition. He employs symbols like the tools, the bayonets, and even the beards to anchor this moment to both Roman history and the then-contemporary political struggles, evoking the weight of France’s military past. Editor: It’s interesting how those ordinary objects become charged with so much meaning. Do you think the Roman Expedition was a popular theme at the time, considering its connection to a tumultuous political era? Curator: Absolutely. The visual language of Romanticism intertwines here with emerging journalistic and documentary styles to connect France's image with those historical continuities of power. Raffet shows us the man, his burden, and his role, inviting us to remember. The pickaxes could be interpreted as more than just digging tools, perhaps subtly referencing labor, construction, and even, allegorically, the building of a new order. What do you think about the composition, with the group appearing almost to emerge from the background? Editor: I think it adds a sense of anonymity, while the specificity of their faces provides an important human counterpoint. The tools of their trade, becoming tools of empire...it definitely leaves a lasting impression. Curator: Yes, the symbols create a layered narrative where individual faces meet a broader cultural memory. Hopefully this gave you something to consider about how images speak volumes, not just in what they show, but what they make us remember.