Tullia rijdt over het lichaam van haar vader Tullius 1628 - 1682

Editor: So, this print is called "Tullia rijdt over het lichaam van haar vader Tullius," made sometime between 1628 and 1682 by Jean Lepautre. The title pretty much spells it out, doesn’t it? It’s intense! So violent for such delicate lines. How do you read the symbolism in such a piece? Curator: Violence etched with elegance... that’s Baroque for you. Lepautre's capturing a real moral collision, isn’t he? Think about what that act represented back then - the ultimate transgression against family, against order. It’s fascinating how he manages to convey the chaos of revolution alongside classical architectural grandeur. He gives you so much to unpack. It’s all about the push and pull isn’t it? Between duty and desire, rebellion and regret. What does this visual storytelling tell you, personally? Editor: I think it's crazy how Lepautre depicts something so… heinous, with this incredible attention to detail. The crowd seems frozen in shock, but the horses are completely indifferent. It’s as if this horrible act is part of something unstoppable, part of the march of history, do you know what I mean? Curator: I do, I see a kind of dread too. Lepautre's playing with scale and perspective and history to pull us in, make us complicit almost. Consider those towering structures looming behind the central drama, echoing not only a political reality but the character flaws, of pride and excess… Perhaps, what looks unstoppable, is a self fulfilling prophesy in process? Editor: That's a brilliant way of putting it! I never thought about it in terms of moral architecture, and that the buildings represent her flaws. Thank you! Curator: The joy is in the unfolding, isn't it? Lepautre offers a reminder to tread carefully. History doesn’t always repeat itself, but it often rhymes, and a lot of that is because of choices people make!