Design for a Frieze with a Coat of Arms with a Serpent and a Landscape Scene with Women and Children 1700 - 1800

Curator: The Met houses a drawing entitled, "Design for a Frieze with a Coat of Arms with a Serpent and a Landscape Scene with Women and Children" which dates from sometime in the 18th century. Editor: Well, looking at it now, my first thought is: it's so muted. The red chalk and the linear style give it this very preliminary feel. Almost like seeing the ghost of a fully realized artwork. Curator: Friezes, of course, are interesting because they’re often about storytelling—processions of figures revealing a narrative. Do you see any recognizable symbols? The serpent, naturally, stands out. Editor: The serpent is pretty obvious, but its scale makes it dominate one portion of the drawing; then your eye sweeps through the idealized bodies populating the scene and rendered with pen and pencil, suggesting some affluence and classical reference points. A material signifier of cultural capital, really. Curator: Perhaps. In mythology, serpents guard hidden knowledge. The intertwining with the figures might hint at concealed desires or primal instincts bubbling beneath the surface of aristocratic life. We see embracing figures, women and children. There's certainly an evocation of family lineage alongside perhaps a hint of… danger, or forbidden knowledge as embodied by the serpent? Editor: Or simply, a fashionable display? A grand household would consume artwork to flaunt social prestige and imply moral virtue. It would become absorbed into the patterns of labor from those commissioned, to the artists themselves, to its eventual audience. How many hands touched this drawing and the materials involved, I wonder. Curator: Good point. These choices aren’t accidental. I wonder if the patron also selected that particular rendering style - a seeming bareness to make it more...honest? This preparatory tone makes it appealing because of the openness in presentation. We get a raw glimpse. Editor: The texture of the paper itself would affect the drawing quality, wouldn't it? Think about the type of labor involved, from papermakers to pencil carvers - there is so much wrapped in it. Curator: All crucial in the history of image-making. We begin with meaning but can end up anywhere! Editor: Absolutely, it’s an intriguing piece offering various viewpoints. I appreciate seeing how the materials and making all shape how we engage with these older stories today.