Jupiter, drawn from the collection of M. Denon c. 1820

Editor: Here we have "Jupiter, drawn from the collection of M. Denon," a print made around 1820 by Louis Lafitte. The image feels very stoic and deliberate; it's quite classical, wouldn't you say? What stands out to you when you look at this print? Curator: I see a careful orchestration of power symbols, rendered through the then-popular lens of Neoclassicism. What stories do you think this image is telling us about its own era through the depiction of Jupiter? Consider the attributes he holds: the scepter, of course, but even the crown of laurel. What resonances do these have? Editor: Well, the scepter seems pretty straightforward; it represents power and authority, right? And the laurel crown probably alludes to victory and glory, like in ancient Rome. Curator: Precisely! But power is never simple, is it? Notice how Lafitte has rendered Jupiter not as an active figure, a Zeus hurling thunderbolts, but rather a figure studied from statuary, laden with a sense of history and... remove. There’s a conscious dialogue happening here between the authority of antiquity and the ambitions of Lafitte’s own time. Don’t you think the artist wants to align his moment with the grandeur of the past, almost invoking its legitimacy? Editor: That makes a lot of sense. It's almost as if the print itself is performing power by associating with these very recognizable symbols and styles. Curator: Yes, it’s visual rhetoric. A reminder that images shape not just what we see but what we believe. The symbols continue to resonate across time. Editor: That's fascinating. I’ll never look at a Neoclassical image the same way again. Thanks for this thoughtful breakdown!