Ein Soldat bändigt ein sich aufbäumendes Pferd 

Curator: This compelling drawing, held here at the Städel Museum, is attributed to Pietro Palmieri the Elder. It's titled "Ein Soldat bändigt ein sich aufbäumendes Pferd," or "A Soldier Taming a Rearing Horse." Editor: Whoa! It looks less like taming, more like an epic power struggle! I get a real sense of raw energy, the horse practically leaps off the page, and that soldier… Intense! Curator: Indeed, the romanticism is strong here. Palmieri captured the dynamism of the scene using ink and watercolor washes. Note the contrast in textures. Editor: Okay, formalist moment—I see the textural contrast big time. The horse's flowing mane is such a beautiful contrast with the angular lines defining the soldier's physique, a visual dance between chaos and control. I also notice the way the values create an unbalanced composition... It forces our eyes up. Is there significance to that, do you think? Curator: Possibly. It reinforces the horse's powerful upward thrust, emphasizing untamed nature versus human imposition of order. Notice also, though it is a drawing, the way that Palmieri guides the watercolor, using it almost as light. See the horse, lighter in value that the soldier? I always thought he did this so it felt to the viewer that freedom and power are being restrained. Editor: That light/dark thing… is he saying something bigger about human control, the danger, even of repressing something primal? Curator: Palmieri's figures rarely stand still and serene. These are moments of extreme emotion, so perhaps what you’re calling ‘repression’ might be a more symbolic capture. In this small work, you witness an individual’s attempt to dominate the power of the natural world. Editor: Alright, alright, point taken! But tell me, what do you think viewers a few centuries from now might make of our own attempts to, you know, ‘tame’ forces of nature? It hits harder when you consider that… Curator: Perhaps art like this becomes a kind of fable. Here’s to hoping that our descendents think we put the horse before the cart.