Minerva Assisting Louis XIV with the Presentation of an Architectural Plan to France c. 17th century

Curator: This is Charles Le Brun's "Minerva Assisting Louis XIV with the Presentation of an Architectural Plan to France," held at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It's a sketch, immediate and direct. The figures are all rendered in what appears to be graphite, lending a certain dynamism despite its classical subject matter. Curator: Indeed. Le Brun employs Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom and strategic warfare, as a symbol of Louis XIV's sagacity and military prowess. He presents France with plans, indicating his ambitions. Editor: It's fascinating how these grand narratives hinge on the physicality of the drawing itself. The paper, the graphite, the hand of the artist shaping the image – all testaments to the labor and materials involved in visualizing power. Curator: Consider how architecture itself becomes a symbolic language—the physical manifestation of royal authority and the enduring legacy Louis sought to create. Editor: Exactly. And the immediacy of the sketch underscores the conceptualization of that authority. I appreciate how raw it is; it reveals the process, the making. Curator: It's a glimpse behind the curtain, showing us how images of power are constructed. Editor: It leaves me thinking about how something as elemental as graphite can become a tool for such elaborate myth-making.