Cartouches Nouvellement Inventez par J.B. Toro 1716

Curator: What strikes you about this image? For me, there's an immediate feeling of poised exuberance. Editor: I think the Baroque really knew how to over-do it! It's like they were afraid of a single empty space. What exactly am I looking at, though? Curator: Well, this drawing is entitled “Cartouches Nouvellement Inventez par J.B. Toro,” and it was created by Jean Bernard Toro in 1716. We have it here at the Met. What we're seeing is a print of a design for a cartouche. Editor: Ah, so like a fancy frame, but even more ornate. I get it. Are the...cherubs, I guess they are? are they standard issue Baroque, or do they mean something special here? Curator: The putti—yes, cherubs—are absolutely of their time. And of course they're not merely decorative. Consider what they’re holding. Musical instruments, architectural models, banners. They symbolize the arts and, by extension, cultivated society. Notice, too, how each element reinforces the others, mirroring images or motifs to enhance the concept of wholeness and balance. Editor: Even those griffin-looking things on either side seem balanced, like perfect gargoyle bookends. Do you think the artist wanted this to be calming in some way? Despite all the ornamentation. Curator: Calming is… interesting. The Baroque aimed to impress, certainly, but not necessarily soothe. The sheer density of visual information aims to evoke a sense of awe, maybe even submission. It's an assertion of power through visual language. Editor: I see, although it all makes me kind of laugh! The poor stone carvers who had to execute this must have been working day and night. Still, though, it is a feast for the eyes! Curator: Precisely! A feast carefully curated, with each visual element placed for maximum symbolic weight. Editor: Well, I won’t be forgetting those plump little putti anytime soon! Curator: Nor I the precision of the design—a glimpse into the aspirations of an era.