Fire in the Borgo (recto); Slight Sketch of the Fire in the Borgo (verso) 1726 - 1750

Curator: This is Ottaviano Dandini's "Fire in the Borgo," likely created between 1726 and 1750. It's currently housed here at the Art Institute of Chicago. Editor: Wow, chaos and heroism rendered in delicate chalk. It’s kind of breathtaking, this snapshot of pandemonium. Curator: Dandini's drawing depicts an episode from the Fire of Borgo in 847, focusing on the swift actions and papal intervention believed to have halted the flames near St. Peter's Basilica. The subject is steeped in narratives of rescue and divine intervention, something incredibly resonant at a time when art served didactic, almost propagandistic, purposes. Editor: There's something incredibly visceral about the energy, everyone is caught in mid-action. It's like he snatched a moment straight from life. Look at the bloke carrying another on his back, with so much intention – are those the only people he cares to rescue, or a representation for greater intention? I love that immediacy; I want to be *in* that urgent, frantic mess! Curator: Well, it's not simply about chaotic immersion; it is about staging certain figures as beacons of hope. Consider the social hierarchy embedded within those acts of rescue—who helps whom, and what that communicates about power. Also Dandini is looking back at Rafael for some compositional strategies... the staging seems academic rather than true urgency if we think about the conventions the artists employs to create the scene. Editor: I see your point. It does feel somewhat rehearsed, yet still incredibly passionate. Maybe it is because I know of the historical importance, the historical context surrounding the composition. Maybe a bit theatrical, even? It doesn’t diminish the sheer dynamism he achieves. And is this chalk? Curator: Yes, he used red chalk on paper, although some argue a pencil was used to further outline the figure. His mastery in modeling form gives a palpable weight to the figures caught between collapse or courageous acts of defiance. And those individual actions accumulate, making them historically readable, culturally symbolic within narratives on gendered expectation and responsibility. It would be impossible for a woman to be that strong at that time, only a male would come to mind. Editor: Gosh, that's made me appreciate the layers. This isn't just a drawing of people escaping a fire, but a layered narrative about a cultural, maybe divine act? The Borgo's flames feel so much hotter now! Curator: Precisely. Dandini provides more than just the immediacy of the scene but rather he stages what Baroque Rome expected from social life to emphasize an episode that carried deep religious weight. Editor: From panicked fleeing to patriarchal constructs and a Papal intervention - who would've guessed so much could be squeezed into a reddish drawing! Curator: Exactly, there's far more than meets the eye within seemingly simple depictions of dramatic historicized moments.