August 30 - 1793

Curator: Here we see "August," an engraving dating to 1793 after William Hamilton, rendered through the hand of Francesco Bartolozzi. Notice the romantic depiction of laborers amidst a golden, agrarian landscape. Editor: Mmm, idyllic! Almost suspiciously so, right? Everyone seems awfully composed and clean for harvest season. Still, I'm getting strong folk-tale vibes, something almost deliberately old-world... Curator: Yes, Bartolozzi masterfully taps into established visual vocabularies. Note the carefully arranged figures. They hark back to classical compositions, elevating everyday life into something timeless and symbolic. The sickle, for example, isn't just a tool. It evokes the reaping of the year, the abundance, and the eventual mortality implied in the harvest cycle. Editor: You're totally right, the way that one woman holds that sickle aloft is almost regal. But is that child trying to grab a snake?! I find myself worrying for his grubby little hands rather than meditating on the symbols of death, ha! It certainly introduces a point of vulnerability to an otherwise rather idealized image. Curator: Intriguing point. The child and snake can be seen as a commentary on innocence confronted with the unpredictable elements of the natural world. We have the family unit carefully harvesting as an orderly system of sustenance being almost interrupted by the looming elements. Perhaps it speaks to a broader anxiety of the period, with socio-political changes sweeping through Europe. Editor: Possibly. Or maybe Bartolozzi just thought it made for a compelling visual tension. You're so clever, but sometimes a snake is just a snake, especially when you are a little child. Either way, the overall effect *is* rather lovely. Curator: Indeed. The light palette enhances the emotional feeling of summer's warmth and the hopeful bounty, it leaves us reflecting on cyclical time. Editor: So we start with sun-drenched labor and end thinking about next season! Well, here's hoping there's plenty to reap later on.