Raphael's Mistress 1785

Editor: This is Charles Howard Hodges' "Raphael's Mistress" at the Harvard Art Museums. She looks so pensive, almost melancholy, with that beautiful turban. What story do you think Hodges is trying to tell? Curator: Ah, yes. More like, what story were _they_ telling. It's a copy of a copy, really. Hodges based this on a print of a painting thought to be by Raphael, but probably not. Editor: So, the title is a bit of a fiction? Curator: Deliciously so. It becomes less about historical accuracy, and more about romantic ideals. The way Hodges uses light – doesn't it just pull you in? What do you make of that gaze? Editor: It's captivating! It's like she knows she's being watched, but she’s choosing to look away. I hadn't considered the romanticism of it all. Thanks! Curator: It's all smoke and mirrors. Or, should I say, shadow and suggestion.