Flamingo; verso: Two Peacocks c. 18th century

Curator: Here we have Jean-Baptiste Oudry's "Flamingo; verso: Two Peacocks" from the Harvard Art Museums. Oudry, a prominent figure of the 18th century, was known for his animal paintings. Editor: Oh, it’s almost comically elegant. Like a feathered punctuation mark standing on aged paper! Curator: The flamingo, a relatively new subject in European art at the time, could represent the exoticism and colonial reach of the period. Oudry's flamingo is a specimen, an object of scientific curiosity. Editor: It also feels melancholic, isolated on the page. I can't help but wonder about the cultural baggage attached to that pink, especially in today's world. Curator: Precisely. Considering the historical context, we must consider how the flamingo’s representation intersects with colonial power dynamics and the categorization of the natural world. Editor: Food for thought, indeed! This flamingo has given me a lot to ponder about beauty, otherness, and the stories we tell about both.