Smaak houdt Waarheid een spiegel voor 1763

Editor: Here we have a print titled "Smaak houdt Waarheid een spiegel voor" or "Taste Holds Truth Up to a Mirror," made in 1763 by Benoit Louis Prevost. It's an engraving and leans heavily into the Neoclassical style. Initially, it feels like a pretty straightforward allegory. What’s your take? How would you interpret this work? Curator: Ah, Prevost! This piece whispers to me of wit and knowing glances. Think about the 18th century – salons buzzing with intellectual games, a hunger for classical ideals served with a dash of irony. It's Neoclassical, yes, but not in a stern, Davidian way. More… flirtatious. What is "taste" reflecting in that mirror? Is it objective truth, or the subjective tastes of the beholder, skewed like looking in a carnival mirror? Editor: I never thought about it like a fun-house mirror; I guess I was trapped in the rigid "truth" paradigm. Curator: And what about the context, “Poetique Francoise”? What might Prevost mean by implying Taste reflecting truth, for French poetry? Editor: Right! It makes it a commentary about artistic judgement itself, and the role of subjective 'taste'. I feel like I missed so much! Thanks for showing how complex it can be, I appreciate you steering me to see it in this fresh light. Curator: That’s the magic, isn’t it? Each piece has a secret life, just waiting for us to listen to its whispers.