Neptune’s Horses 

Curator: This work, tentatively titled "Neptune’s Horses," is attributed to Walter Crane and executed in oil paint. Editor: The colors immediately strike me. Pale blues and whites, like a hazy dream of the sea. It evokes that liminal space between waking and sleeping, the kind of memory that shimmers just beyond your grasp. Curator: Crane was fascinated by mythology, wasn’t he? Look at how the waves themselves take on the form of horses, the steeds of Neptune, God of the Sea. Editor: It speaks to the power of metaphor, the way human narratives get projected onto nature. This isn’t just water; it’s the embodiment of raw power, male energy, dominion. The artist depicts the patriarchal structures imbedded into Western Mythology by assigning Neptune the ability to possess nature, reflected in how he controls and directs the horses/waves of the sea. Curator: Consider the symbolism here—the ocean as a source of both life and chaos, Neptune as the ruler of that domain. Water has always held that dualistic representation; its the universal symbol for subconscious depth. It suggests themes of emotional turbulence. Editor: And yet, there's a softness to the brushstrokes, a dreamlike quality that undercuts that violence, almost masking Neptune's role in tragedies from mythology. What do you make of that light filtering through the waves? Curator: I see it as an emblem of hope or purity. In psychological terms, water and light represent transformation. These combined symbolic images allow us to consider themes like clarity emerging from chaos. What do you take away from this, in our world of increasing environmental concerns? Editor: We are destroying that balance in mythology and environment: how do these classical narratives serve as a warning or a commentary? Looking at this makes me uneasy and motivates me to be engaged. This is what this artwork makes me reflect on! Curator: For me, it reiterates the long continuity of certain symbolic languages. Perhaps this painting, then, encourages dialogue between us and the powerful cultural narratives we have inherited from the ancient Greeks.