Scylla levert de stad Megara uit aan Minos 1628 - 1682

Curator: Oh, look at this scene! It almost feels…fragile, for a siege. Editor: Right? This print, titled "Scylla Delivering the City of Megara to Minos," by Jean Lepautre, dances between meticulous detail and sheer… lightness. Crafted somewhere between 1628 and 1682. And that baroque styling. I’m drawn in. The materials themselves are humble: it’s an engraving on paper, yet there’s this expansive feeling. Curator: It’s a bit mad isn’t it. The tower, the city… and all those lances – it feels more like a meticulously arranged stage set than a gritty battle, really. Editor: It’s so stylised. You think about what that repetitive, cross-hatching says about labor. How long would that have taken to print at scale. The city seems like a stage for the figures on horse, rather than this realistic attempt at re-presenting battle. I feel there’s also an overt sense of male dominance, of power. Curator: Totally. It’s theatrical! And Lepautre obviously loves to showcase his technical skills here, too; how to handle light, depth, how to show architecture and narrative together, all in monochromatic lines. But back to your initial reaction - the fragile, or rather the lighter, quality. It captures a crucial, tragic moment where, if you know the myth, princess Scylla betrays her city to King Minos out of love. All a little… mad. I keep coming back to that. Editor: The choice of engraving too… it highlights accessibility of information. Curator: Maybe fragility and vulnerability isn’t entirely a feeling that’s ‘wrong’ when it comes to how we perceive this. Editor: Agreed. A story of high drama translated into humble material means it accessible for many. I find that interesting. Curator: Well, seeing it this way gives me a fresh angle on this, thanks. The material reality, mass reproducibility versus a moment of almost insane passion in Greek mythology.