Hope c. 16th century

Curator: Giuseppe Niccolò Vicentino's print, simply titled "Hope," presents a figure in a state of expectant supplication. It's held here at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: There's something so raw and vulnerable about the figure, her upward gaze and clasped hands, like a fragile prayer etched in sepia tones. It's not just hope; it's yearning. Curator: Right, and the anchor—usually a symbol of steadfastness—is almost obscured, suggesting the precariousness of hope itself. It's a powerful symbol within the larger iconography of faith and resilience. Editor: Yes! I notice that she is not only hopeful, but in the midst of a barren landscape, making her act all the more desperate and, honestly, all the more human. Curator: The sketch is so beautiful. I feel like the message here is that hope is what we must grab onto even when the world around us is in disarray. Editor: Exactly—hope as a kind of defiant act, a refusal to be swallowed by the grimness. Thanks to Vicentino, we can explore the symbology behind our most heartfelt feelings.