John Henderson 1787

Curator: This portrait is "John Henderson," created in 1787 by James Tassie. It's currently held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Editor: My first thought is how delicate it appears. The pale relief against the robin’s egg blue is quite striking; it looks like a cameo but much more sophisticated. Curator: Indeed. Tassie was a master of replicating ancient gems using ceramic and glass paste, elevating what could be seen as craft to the realm of high art. He took casting from classical forms into the modern, democratizing these images via their reproducible form. Editor: So, a deliberate engagement with classicism, then? This neoclassical aesthetic served to idealize and legitimize figures like Henderson, positioning them within a historical continuum of power and intellectualism. Were these widely available? Who could own these kinds of images? Curator: Yes, neoclassical forms were all the rage, as well as accessible in multiple ways, reflecting a desire for order and reason but Tassie democratized portraiture. He found a ready market amongst the upwardly mobile professional classes, scientists and so on to disseminate accurate effigies on the market to clients near and far through a robust print-marketing business, to great acclaim. It gave men like Henderson an aura. Editor: It really makes you think about the museum itself, doesn't it? The way collecting and exhibiting practices shape our understanding of what is historically important and valuable? How power determines which image, which person gets to be monumentalized. The decision of who to frame in what manner is a statement on the historical significance. Curator: Exactly. Tassie also benefited from the growing scientific interest in collecting and classifying objects, catering to a market that valued both aesthetics and empirical knowledge. Editor: Considering all this, it's no longer "just" a decorative ceramic. It tells us about class, labor, trade, art production, scientific rationalization of industry. I appreciate its complexity far more now. Curator: Absolutely. I’m always amazed how close study transforms simple objects, in terms of both social and material meanings.