Piramide van zes mannen 1541 - 1545

Editor: Right now we are looking at, “Pyramid of Six Men,” an engraving by Juste de Juste, dating back to somewhere between 1541 and 1545. I have to say, the contorted poses of these figures is strangely unsettling. What story do you think this engraving tells? Curator: Ah, a human pyramid, if you will, and Juste certainly liked his human forms complex and interwoven. When I look at it, I feel a kind of striving, wouldn’t you agree? Each figure depends on the other, burdened and burdened-ing, all aspiring perhaps to reach something beyond themselves. Is it stable, this monument of flesh? Editor: Stable? I’m not sure it is! There's a real tension there, like the whole thing could collapse at any moment. Curator: Exactly! And isn't that delicious? This is Mannerism after all, darling—artifice, elegance, and a touch of the bizarre all rolled into one. These aren't just anatomical studies; Juste is playing with idealized forms, twisting them to convey…what? A collective exertion? A Sisyphean futility? It makes you think, doesn't it, about what we choose to support and what burdens we pass on? Editor: It definitely does. It’s kind of nightmarish but beautiful, all at the same time. Curator: Almost a living, breathing architectural folly, wouldn’t you say? Now I’ll never look at a Cirque du Soleil performance the same way! Thank you. Editor: Definitely a fresh take on things; now, me neither!