Spotprent op de mislukte ballonvaart van Miolan en Janinet 1784

Editor: This is "Spotprent op de mislukte ballonvaart van Miolan en Janinet," a print etched in ink, created anonymously in 1784. It’s held at the Rijksmuseum. It looks satirical. What kind of message do you see in the symbols used? Curator: Ah, a very insightful question! Note the visual tension. The portraits haloed by clouds suggest ambition and enlightenment ideals. But above, the words "Abaissez et non montez" – Descend, do not ascend – already hints at Icarus’s folly, right? The donkey – the animal counterpart to the flying Pegasus– kicking its hooves up reinforces this. Do you notice anything about the dress and carriage of the central figure? Editor: Yes, he's burdened, isn't he? The empty balloon being dragged…he looks more like a prisoner than a pioneer. Curator: Exactly. It subverts the heroic narrative. Think about the dog, cats, and birdcage abandoned; consider those once thought vital to the ascension now relegated as burdensome luggage. It questions the hubris of the Enlightenment – do you agree? Editor: Absolutely. The animals symbolize things left behind, casting a light on how new innovations don’t always improve life, but leave debris and destruction, literally and metaphorically. Curator: Precisely. Consider how the balloon itself, representing human aspiration, is depicted partially deflated. It makes one consider where human knowledge and science fit within larger society, or if we even consider this at all. Editor: I never thought of prints being so complex. It makes me realize there is often more than one story being told simultaneously. Thanks for sharing that, this has been enlightening, even the visual cues can tell stories within stories.