Illuminations

The people of the 18th century loved intricate light shows, spectacular fantasies with complex stories, and scenery designed specially for a given occasion. One of the royal portfolios from the Print Room is fully dedicated to the portrayal of fireworks.

Light, as a metaphor, is closely linked to the symbolic meaning of the Enlightenment, and, with its brightness piercing through the darkness that enshrouds the world, it depicts the birth of new eras. At the same time, an epiphany brought forth by light means a moment of blindness, illusion—a delusive interpretation of a historical moment, a picture whose meaning eludes us.

Fireworks also hint at politics—we realize there is a distinction between what is within the circle of light, and what remains outside in the dark; and between the audience and the actors of a show. Today, in the context of politics, the epiphany of the Enlightenment makes its comeback as an attempt to understand the framework in which we have been living for over 200 years.