Chariot of the Moon 

Editor: This is Giovanni Battista Piranesi's "Chariot of the Moon," an etching and engraving. There's a figure being pulled along on a chariot and it all feels very theatrical, very staged. What do you see in this piece, especially given the title? Curator: Well, immediately, the depiction of labour jumps out. This is no glorious victory parade. The print offers a lens to examine power dynamics, literally showing one figure burdened by the demands of another who stands tall. Editor: Power dynamics? The one on the chariot doesn't seem that powerful. Curator: That's where context comes in. This references the Roman goddess Diana, representing the moon. In patriarchal societies, feminine figures were and are often symbols manipulated to control societal narratives, their autonomy limited to prescribed roles. Diana's image, appropriated for control, becomes the ‘driver,’ seemingly powerful, yet simultaneously contained by allegorical expectations. Who pulls the strings is obscured, perhaps? Editor: So, the one pulling might be more powerful in a way? Because they are burdened by the patriarchy? Curator: Not exactly "more powerful," but consider that their forced servitude is the literal engine driving the goddess's procession. It challenges us to consider the social implications of these kinds of unequal systems of obligation. Who bears the true weight in any constructed narrative, whether mythic or modern? Editor: That gives me a lot to consider; it makes me see beyond just the pretty drawing, and consider the statement it may be making on power and society. Curator: Exactly. By interrogating visual depictions such as Piranesi’s “Chariot of the Moon," we expose and question the societal mechanisms often invisibly at work.