Silence and Flippancy 17th-18th century

Editor: So, this is Gérard de Lairesse's "Silence and Flippancy." It's an etching, and I find the contrast between the figures really striking. What do you see in this piece? Curator: The print stages a crucial debate about gendered expectations. The woman choosing silence by the incense burner embodies idealized virtue, while the pointing woman embodies the social transgression of flippancy. But is silence necessarily virtuous, especially when it masks complicity or injustice? How do we grapple with the power dynamics inherent in prescribing silence to certain groups? Editor: So you're saying it's not just about good and bad, but about who gets to speak and who doesn't? Curator: Exactly. It forces us to confront historical silencing and how it perpetuates inequalities. Lairesse's image then becomes a provocation, urging us to examine whose voices are amplified and whose are suppressed. Editor: That's a powerful way to look at it. I'll never see this print the same way again!