Study for "The Fury of Athamas" c. 1790 - 1794

Curator: Standing before us is a pencil drawing by John Flaxman, dating from around 1790 to 1794. It's a study for a larger, never-realized work, "The Fury of Athamas." Editor: My first impression is tension, but almost subdued, like holding your breath underwater. You feel the strain, but the simple lines keep it... restrained? Curator: Restrained fits. Flaxman's neoclassical style is known for its linear elegance. What stands out to me is how he conveys such intense emotion with so few strokes. It's almost as if he's distilled the fury down to its purest visual essence. Look at the lines that depict the figures - the clear focus on outline. Editor: The story of Athamas itself is pretty brutal, right? Mad rage induced by Hera, driving him to kill one of his own children... You see Hera’s rage depicted throughout time—the symbolic meaning of infanticide as an archetypal experience really stays with people. It makes you think of your own emotional extremes, whether inherited, self-inflicted or externally driven. Curator: Exactly. And Flaxman's drawing, even in its unfinished state, captures that horrific moment. You can see Athamas, driven mad, and his wife Ino desperately trying to protect their child. There’s a very intentional layering, both stylistically with the simplicity of his strokes, and narratively, echoing mythic forms as contemporary human experiences. The visual language here connects us to timeless themes of vengeance and the destructive power of unchecked emotions. Editor: Flaxman was tapping into a long history of depicting this kind of primal emotional experience, and of women as emblems for cultural continuity, or at least striving towards it. Curator: This study feels so raw and immediate because of its minimalist approach and neoclassical presentation, that speaks to an exploration into enduring aspects of human nature that Flaxman so well captures with just pencil and paper. Editor: Well, it’s made me ponder my own inherited mythologies, that's for sure. A powerful little drawing. Curator: Indeed. It’s a poignant illustration that encourages deep, historical consideration.