Gevleugeld engelenkopje 1706 - 1750

Editor: This is Cornelis Troost’s "Winged Angel Head," a pastel drawing from the first half of the 18th century. There's something both precious and unsettling about it. It almost feels like the artist is wrestling with the idea of innocence. How do you interpret this work? Curator: I find it productive to consider this piece through the lens of social power structures present during the Baroque era. While seemingly a straightforward religious image, this angel, rendered with such tangible, almost fleshy detail, invites a closer look at how innocence itself was constructed and controlled. What do we make of the cherubic ideal? Is it genuinely innocent, or does it function to legitimize certain hierarchies? Editor: I hadn’t thought of it that way! It's easy to get caught up in the technical skill and overlook that. So, the plumpness of the angel’s cheeks, its downcast gaze... Curator: Precisely! Those features aren’t simply aesthetic choices; they arguably embody the era's specific notions about childhood, spirituality, and, dare I say, even subjugation. What if we read this as a subtle commentary on the burdens placed upon the vulnerable within a society obsessed with religious virtue? Editor: Wow, I can definitely see it now. It adds such a layer of complexity. I suppose what I initially saw as 'precious' now appears...strategically constructed. Curator: Exactly. Seeing art as inextricably linked to the historical forces that birthed it allows us to critique the very narratives that art often perpetuates. Thinking intersectionally, who *gets* to be represented as innocent, and what power dynamics are in play? Editor: That’s really given me a lot to think about regarding not only this drawing but also the power that art possesses. Thank you! Curator: It’s been my pleasure. Let us both carry forward this renewed vision!