Pope Clement V, Presenting His Five Laws c. 16th century

Curator: This print, "Pope Clement V, Presenting His Five Laws," is by an anonymous artist, and it’s held here at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It's intriguing. A little intimidating. All those figures, the rigid architecture... it feels like the weight of authority, doesn't it? Curator: Absolutely. It depicts Pope Clement, surrounded by figures, presumably clergy, and what appears to be the presentation of new legal decrees. The architecture is designed to reinforce that notion. Editor: I wonder, though, about those little vignettes along the bottom—framed like medallions. They seem to tell smaller, more intimate stories. Is it a contrast? Curator: Potentially. They could represent the everyday application, or impact, of these laws. The artist is drawing attention to the public reception of laws—their effect and how they touch different aspects of communal life. Editor: It’s a fascinating dance between the grand and the granular, the law-giver and the citizen. The artist, whoever they were, certainly had a clever way of looking at the world. Curator: Indeed. And the act of looking, and analyzing prints like these, also offers insight into our own cultural history.