Illustration XIX c. 16th century

Editor: This is Illustration XIX, an anonymous print at the Harvard Art Museums. The lines are so stark, creating a rather dramatic scene. What symbolic elements stand out to you? Curator: The architecture immediately speaks to a sense of established order, doesn't it? But look closer. Do you see the figure on the scaffolding, seemingly dismantling something? Editor: Now that you mention it, yes! It seems like a cross! What could that symbolize? Curator: Could it represent a challenge to authority? The cross, often a symbol of faith, being taken down. Consider how such imagery might resonate with anxieties about societal change. Editor: That’s a fascinating point. I hadn't considered the image as questioning established structures. Curator: Exactly! Symbols are never fixed, are they? They evolve with the viewer. Editor: Thanks for opening my eyes to the layers of symbolism at play here.