Amazons on Horseback Playing Lyres c. 1827

Curator: This is Pierre-Jean David d'Angers' drawing, "Amazons on Horseback Playing Lyres," housed here at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It's quite striking! It feels dynamic, yet almost dreamlike, perhaps because of the medium. Curator: The sketch captures the mythological Amazons, figures often symbolizing female power and independence. What do you make of their playing lyres as they ride? Editor: It's a powerful juxtaposition: warfare and art. Maybe it is about reclaiming narratives of violence and rewriting them with beauty. Curator: Or, the lyre could be a call back to Apollo, a symbol of harmony and order, co-opted into their representation. Editor: Perhaps the artist is hinting at the complex dance between power and perceived societal roles that persists even now. Curator: Indeed. The echoes of ancient myth still resonate, inviting us to reconsider our present. Editor: It makes you wonder what new myths we're creating today, and how they'll be interpreted tomorrow.