Standing Allegorical Figure with Caduceus (Peace?) n.d.

John Michael Rysbrack made this drawing of an allegorical figure with pen and brown ink over graphite in the eighteenth century. This drawing engages with the visual language of classical antiquity to comment on the social and political issues of his time. The figure is depicted with a caduceus, a symbol of peace, negotiation, and commerce. Rysbrack was working in Britain, a nation whose wealth depended on expanding its global trade networks through diplomatic efforts and, often, outright colonization. The visual codes of classical art were often used at this time to idealize contemporary social and political projects. The classical aesthetic lent them a veneer of timelessness and universality. To understand this artwork, one might research the history of British trade in the 1700s. We might also compare it to other contemporary depictions of peace or commerce, exploring how artists used the visual conventions of their day to promote particular values or ideologies. The meaning of art is never fixed. It is always contingent on historical context and the questions we bring to it.