View of Part of the Capitol at Rome 1681

Editor: This is Melchior Küsel's "View of Part of the Capitol at Rome," a small etching at the Harvard Art Museums. It feels like a stage, a deliberate display of power and classical ideals. What symbols jump out at you? Curator: Consider the sculptural groupings. The horse and rider suggest dominion, control, and perhaps even martial prowess, while the embracing figures evoke ideas of concord, civic virtue, and philosophical inquiry. Editor: So, the artist uses familiar visual cues to build a larger narrative about Rome's identity? Curator: Exactly. Küsel employs these symbols, referencing a shared cultural memory, to position Rome as a center of both power and enlightened thought. The image itself becomes a vessel for carrying and transmitting these established meanings. Editor: I hadn't thought about it that way, layering different meanings onto one image. Curator: Indeed, and that’s how images speak across time.