Dood van Sappho 1783 - 1851

Curator: Willem van Senus created this engraving titled “Death of Sappho.” While the exact date of its creation remains a bit broad, we place it somewhere between 1783 and 1851. Editor: Oh, she looks…melodramatic! The pose, the windswept drapery…it’s all very dramatic, very Romantic, very much on the verge of something big. Like plummeting off that cliff! Curator: Sappho's story, shrouded in myth and limited historical evidence, speaks to a rich, artistic life complicated by heartbreak and societal constraints. The act of leaping from the Leucadian cliff is depicted as a consequence of unrequited love for Phaon. It is symbolic of defiance but also highlights the limited agency afforded to women, especially queer women, in the time period. Editor: See, that’s interesting because the sea looks almost inviting in its detailed churning. It’s a classic love-story-gone-wrong tableau, sure, but there's something genuinely poetic in the imagined finality of it all. It looks romantic but also isolating. I'm kind of into it, morbidly. Curator: Van Senus situates the viewer to question Romanticism’s gaze on female subjectivity. How is female emotion often portrayed? Does this representation truly honor Sappho's memory, or does it exploit a sensationalized narrative? I’m not convinced of its respectful engagement with female artistic legacies and its tendency to sensationalize female experiences. Editor: True, it does sort of feel like a performance. Sappho's up there, hair blowing, lyre in hand, almost…posing for her big swan dive. Is she embracing freedom or surrendering to despair? It is hard to read. I suppose either way it's art imitating a pretty miserable life. Curator: Examining these depictions of Sappho allow us to interrogate prevailing societal attitudes about women, desire, and self-determination during this time. These depictions speak less about Sappho than they reveal the artist’s society. Editor: Okay, I can appreciate that this engraving makes me think about these things more deeply. Maybe that was the whole point! Curator: Perhaps. Considering our own potential biases helps us engage with and more critically understand these historical images. Editor: Well, I guess I will think about the power of choices…or the lack of them. It feels very now to look at this old print!