Plate 6: Allegory with Hercules chasing off the Harpies as Justice and Plenty aid the poor, from Barberinae aulae fornix 1672 - 1682

Curator: Here we have "Plate 6: Allegory with Hercules chasing off the Harpies as Justice and Plenty aid the poor, from Barberinae aulae fornix." It's an engraving dating back to sometime between 1672 and 1682. What strikes you about it? Editor: Chaos! Glorious, controlled chaos. There’s such an abundance of figures crammed into the frame, limbs and drapery swirling together, you barely know where to look first! Curator: It's bursting with symbolic action. Hercules, of course, is the brawny hero, dispatching the Harpies. He always brings a certain dramatic flair, doesn't he? Editor: Absolutely. Harpies – nasty creatures, snatching food and defiling everything. They are ancient symbols for greed and corruption, the embodiment of the ills that create poverty. So, banishing them is a pretty big deal. And it seems like Hercules might even have the aid of putti armed with more weapons to help? Curator: Exactly, and observe Justice and Plenty, offering succor to the needy below. Plenty is unmistakable, her horn overflowing, of course. The Barberini family were all about dispensing heavenly justice on earth, and this engraving tries to reinforce that vision. Editor: That cornucopia overflows with significance, doesn't it? Plenty isn't just about material wealth; it’s about spiritual nourishment as well. But I wonder, looking at this now, is it enough? The contrast between the idealized figures above and the pleading hands below…it’s poignant. Almost like a moral question etched in ink. Curator: I feel you there; but also, isn’t this elaborate arrangement almost too staged, as if Justice, personified and bestowed from above, can erase a material lack? A symbolic cleansing rather than a genuine resolution, perhaps? The print leaves one wondering, and to some extent is also a visual boast of the wealth and position of the family it depicts. Editor: It makes you consider the difference between idealized justice and real-world action. Still, as a potent image, it continues to provoke, offering a compelling window into a society grappling with inequality and power. Curator: Yes, the symbolic tension truly resonates. It encapsulates the contradictions inherent in displays of power.