Le Porte Balle assis 1605 - 1650

Curator: This print is entitled “Le Porte Balle assis,” created by Jean Morin between 1605 and 1650. It is currently part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection. Editor: It’s charming, with that circular framing! A very picturesque scene; even the overcast sky has a serene quality. The lines are so precise, and that adds to the sense of tranquility, almost a posed artificiality. Curator: Absolutely. And understanding Morin's context helps us see this landscape in a new light. This era was marked by religious and political upheaval. These controlled, ordered landscapes could be read as a yearning for stability, a visual rejection of the chaos. Editor: I appreciate that interpretation. From a formal perspective, I’m drawn to the way Morin uses the circular frame to focus our attention. The composition pulls you in; the lines of the architecture and the curvature of the land all reinforce this. Note that all of it comes back around through this little creek on the left to join a tree and bush line on the right. Curator: That's interesting. It also begs the question, what is being defended by these walls? Perhaps social structures are mirrored here through art? Maybe it's that class segregation is physically apparent in the walls Morin renders with such precision. I find myself questioning the identity of who gets kept in, and who gets kept out? Editor: I hadn't considered the perspective of separation! Though it's beautiful, your ideas have offered it a bit of complexity and I'm finding that quite helpful in reconsidering its inherent features and asking myself if it really does lean heavily into stability. Curator: Exactly! This little artwork is a wonderful lesson on why contextual interpretation is so crucial in art. Thanks to Morin and the art form, we've started a dialogue on potential separation through "picturesque beauty". Editor: Thank you, without that information I might have missed all of those possible points and just stayed superficial, commenting solely on Morin's landscape ability!