Illustration LIV c. 16th century

Curator: This is Illustration LIV, from an unknown artist, part of a series held here at Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It's intense! Stark blacks and whites, almost claustrophobic. It feels like a perilous journey, a story unfolding. Curator: Absolutely. This print likely illustrates a scene from Virgil's Aeneid, focusing on Aeneas's voyage. Note how the figures are arranged, almost stacked, on a boat navigating treacherous waters. Editor: The sea looks so angry, almost like teeth. And the layering of figures feels almost like a power dynamic, a hierarchy on this little boat of survival. Curator: The text integrated into the image—Caribdis, Sicilia, Italia—reinforces the journey's geographical and allegorical significance, reflecting themes of exile, destiny, and the founding of Rome. Editor: It's amazing how much narrative and emotion can be packed into such a small, visually blunt piece. It makes you think about the stories we tell ourselves about migration, power, and the constant search for home. Curator: Precisely. A journey captured in a moment, frozen in ink. Editor: Leaving us to feel the waves.