Manfredo Settala’s Cabinet of Art and Curiosities in Milan c. 1666

Editor: We're looking at "Manfredo Settala’s Cabinet of Art and Curiosities in Milan," an engraving from around 1666. It depicts a room crammed with objects. I'm immediately struck by the linear perspective and how it pulls your eye to a vanishing point. What jumps out at you, from a formal perspective? Curator: Immediately, it's the orchestration of line that captures my attention. Observe how the rigorous, almost mathematical, application of perspective isn't simply representational. Instead, the orthogonal lines form a kind of cage, trapping the gaze and preventing it from comfortably settling. Editor: A cage, interesting. Can you elaborate? Curator: Notice the chequered floor. Its geometric precision clashes with the profusion of objects lining the walls and ceiling. There is a deliberate tension created by this contrast, isn't there? Editor: Yes, I see that now! The strict lines of the floor are disrupted by the sheer volume of displayed items. The overall feeling is somewhat unsettling, actually. Is this clash typical for Baroque engravings? Curator: It's not unusual to find this deliberate play with visual tension within the Baroque aesthetic. Ask yourself, though: What meaning might be drawn from this disjunction? Could the rigid structure be interpreted as an attempt to impose order upon the chaos of collected knowledge, ultimately failing beneath its own weight? Editor: I guess it shows how human attempts to categorize the world are inherently limited, in a way. Thanks! That was really helpful in unpacking the piece. Curator: Indeed. By interrogating its formal elements, we can appreciate not only the skill of the artist, but also begin to contemplate deeper thematic layers embedded within the work.