Forest of Harpies 1807

Editor: Here we have John Flaxman's "Forest of Harpies," from the Tate Collections. It's rendered in delicate lines, almost like a dreamscape. There's a real sense of unease clinging to those figures trapped in the trees. How do you interpret this work? Curator: It does feel plucked from a nightmare, doesn't it? For me, Flaxman captures the psychological torment of Dante's Inferno. These aren't just trees; they're souls, punished and transformed. You almost feel their silent screams echoing from the page. What do you make of the figures themselves? Editor: I hadn't considered them as souls... That gives the image a whole new layer of meaning. Curator: Exactly! Flaxman invites us to contemplate the blurred lines between victim and perpetrator, reality and illusion. Perhaps that's why it continues to haunt us.