Frontispiece: The Sacred Pentecost Sermon 1634

Editor: This is Claude Mellan's "Frontispiece: The Sacred Pentecost Sermon." It's a print, and the contrast between the figures of Cupid and the Roman soldier is really striking. What's your interpretation of this dichotomy? Curator: Mellan presents us with the tension between divine love and earthly law. The etching, likely created during the Counter-Reformation, begs us to consider how religious dogma often weaponizes fear—represented by the soldier—against the more liberating forces of love and knowledge. What does the act of inscribing laws on stone signify to you? Editor: I guess it highlights how inflexible and permanent those laws are meant to be. Curator: Exactly. Mellan uses this image to start a dialogue, asking us to question the structures of power and the narratives they impose. It makes you wonder what other stories are being suppressed. Editor: I see it now, a real challenge to established norms. Curator: Indeed, and a potent reminder of art's ability to incite critical thought and social change.