Frontispiece for Houdard de la Motte, Fables Nouvelles 1719

Curator: It's a bit like stepping into a dream, isn't it? Editor: It really is, a celestial court filled with big wigs in togas! Actually it strikes me as cold, a little… calculating? Everything is so staged. Curator: Indeed. What we are viewing is the Frontispiece for Houdard de la Motte’s "Fables Nouvelles", dating to 1719. Nicolas Henry Tardieu created it. Notice how it functions to situate the entire collection within a classical framework, even before one begins to read. Editor: Classical, certainly. I can tell! A goddess on a cloud. A guy in full armor! But this almost mechanical… the way each figure has a designated pose, feels staged… Curator: Well, let’s think about context. The artist creates for an author who publishes books with royal privilege during the height of French Absolutism. Consider the visual rhetoric—divine justification, martial strength, earthly supplication, and heavenly accord all converge in perfect harmony. Editor: Okay, yes! All perfectly calibrated to send the "correct" message. Though I find the way they render the allegory— a woman with bare breasts atop of a fluffy looking cloud, handing off power to what I presume is royalty sitting underneath, and they are themselves receiving an offering… is a bit cloying, to be frank. It feels didactic in a way that leaves no room for… wonder. Curator: It's about legitimizing power. Look closely at how each gesture contributes. Venus floats ethereally, yet with a hand actively bestowing authority. The artist uses Baroque dynamism to give us a very top-down vision. It reinforces specific power relations within the French court. Editor: I get it, and, it works… sort of, in this micro historical way! But if this print ended up in my house... say I'd rescued it at auction... I might honestly give it to my niece, and tell her it’s Cinderella’s castle… Curator: (Chuckles) How very democratic of you. Regardless, let’s not forget the skilled craftsmanship inherent to the image, how such prints like this, were used to educate the public through allegories and complex symbols Editor: All these little strokes add up to such a loaded message, don’t they? I think I need another espresso now. Thanks for unpacking this image with me. Curator: My pleasure! Perhaps it's just the right time for that caffeinated brew to appreciate fully the intricate tapestry of political intrigue that art reveals.