Apollo verleidt Leucothea c. 1590 - 1728

Curator: Standing here, we have Hendrick Goltzius’s engraving, "Apollo verleidt Leucothea," dating from around 1590 to 1728. It's currently held here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: It has a curious stillness, almost theatrical. The elaborate interior creates a kind of stage for this...intimate encounter? Curator: Indeed. Consider the composition: The lines, rendered through meticulous engraving, create both depth and a stark contrast between light and shadow. We have Apollo, identified by the radiating halo, leaning in to embrace Leucothea, who is reclining on a bed in what seems to be the most lavish bedroom I've ever seen. The balance and clarity almost elevate a dark situation into something that is…palatable for contemporary viewership? Editor: Ah, yes, palatable. This artwork presents an example of Baroque art navigating a tricky narrative. Depicting a seduction carries certain risks, as the goal is clearly to be titillating but you wouldn't want to run afoul of those holding the purse strings! It has to be sensuous and classical, rather than tawdry and base, so we get sharp, elegant lines, rather than an indulgence in soft forms or emotional expressionism. Curator: The interior certainly emphasizes this distance from, shall we say, genuine "carnality." Look at the formality: tiled ceiling, art hung on the walls, attendants in other rooms. Everything about this is about showing, rather than feeling. There is no intensity. Everything, and everyone, are very far removed from the central interaction in space and affect. Editor: It’s a potent blend of power and desire rendered through the distancing effect of class and religion. How fascinating that a story of seduction could be converted into a display of aesthetic sophistication. This engraving seems to embody Baroque tensions, don't you think? Curator: I think you’re spot-on. Considering how the scene functions symbolically, there’s an evident emphasis on constraint amidst a tale of desire. Editor: I see so many cultural conversations converging in such a small space: from the use of the art space itself to render potentially discomfiting situations manageable, to the tension inherent in representing scenes of seduction as high art, and on to this question of aesthetic distance and how that transforms what we see before us!