Portret van senator Alessandro Vettori 1768

Curator: Take a look at this stately engraving. It’s a portrait of Senator Alessandro Vettori, made in 1768 by Antonio Zaballi. Editor: Wow, he certainly looks like a man of importance! The stern expression and rather serious pose – you can practically hear the rustle of paper from whatever important document he's holding. Curator: It’s a fabulous example of neoclassical portraiture. Notice the carefully controlled lines, the focus on the senator's features. Very proper. Editor: Proper, yes, but there’s also a stiffness there, wouldn't you agree? I wonder what his life was really like, behind all that gravitas. You see a column partially obscured in the background - with a series of books piled near the Senator - that says to me that this man represents something other than pure character. Curator: The column is a classical symbol, isn’t it? Stability, tradition. And yes, those books add a layer of intellect. Remember this portrait emerged from Academic Art, where artists tried to demonstrate ideal artistic principles. Editor: He’s a collection of symbols; what he 'does' is seemingly secondary to the artwork. Curator: Possibly. Zaballi was working in an era that admired the virtue and decorum of the classical world, seeking to revive it in the present. The whole composition underscores his high social status and scholarly leanings. Editor: Though even without knowing much about Italian politics, I feel a sense of melancholy radiating from his image; the impermanence of all his status laid bare... Curator: Funny you should say that; maybe Zaballi has achieved that quality despite the formal conventions of the day. Editor: It certainly begs the question: How does someone living now capture that sentiment and what props do they surround their subjects with to convey that same sentiment today? The game seems different. Curator: Absolutely! But this portrait also prompts one to reconsider the individual underneath the emblems. What kind of man was he? Editor: Indeed! Now that's something to investigate!