Illustration from Brant, Navis Stultifera 15th-16th century

Curator: Here we have an illustration from Brant's "Navis Stultifera," or "Ship of Fools," an anonymous work residing in the Harvard Art Museums. What's your initial take? Editor: Well, chaos! A jumble of crowned heads and jesters… I feel like I've stumbled into a very strange party. Curator: Indeed! This satire critiques societal folly. Note how fools adore their own jester hats, blind to the true wisdom. Editor: It’s wonderfully absurd. The way they’re all crammed together, vying for attention, really captures the feeling of a world turned upside down. Curator: Precisely. It speaks to the universal human tendency toward self-deception and the dangers of vanity, themes relevant even today. Editor: It's unsettling how timeless foolishness is! Makes you think about our own absurdities.