Trophées Nouvellement Inventez par J.B. Toro. 1716

Curator: What an intricate fantasy! The composition of Jean Bernard Toro’s "Trophées Nouvellement Inventez" feels like a stage set, all theatrical drapery and precarious balancing acts. Editor: Indeed. What we are looking at is a drawing dating back to 1716, now held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It seems to exemplify Baroque sensibilities—celebratory, decorative, and overflowing. But who are these trophies really for? Curator: Well, look at this lion at the base, it reminds me of someone's spoiled Persian cat lounging among the spoils of war! Perhaps this piece critiques that relationship. Editor: Or perhaps it reinforces it, even unintentionally. Images of conquest and power always demand careful interrogation. I can’t help but notice that the drawing emphasizes not only martial prowess through weaponry but also a sense of divine endorsement—see the cherubs floating above. Curator: Absolutely. The cherubs and laurel wreaths soften the potential severity of all the weaponry. It makes it rather frivolous and delicate—Baroque does like its drama. Almost comical at times. Do you think there is an aspect of parody embedded? Editor: Perhaps—the era certainly knew its spectacles. But consider the long legacy of violence that underlies the aesthetics. Aren't these celebratory drawings always implicated, even if subtly, in the narratives they depict? Who gets remembered and how? Who gets conveniently erased from view? Curator: Food for thought! Still, the line work itself… exquisite. Almost as if the violence becomes aestheticized through craft itself. I can easily become absorbed by the texture. Editor: Absolutely. Even our pleasure can't escape interrogation. We should not shy away from such complexity; acknowledging these multifaceted relationships within artworks like these ensures that we can confront difficult questions of power dynamics today. Curator: Such an eloquent and urgent approach. Ultimately, perhaps artworks like these allow us to be curious about past and present atrocities simultaneously. Editor: It requires constant effort, absolutely. Approaching images in a way that demands we bring a radical, and honest, approach, acknowledging intersectionality.