Powerful Whispers

One of the classic images of the powerful: two men leaning their faces close to each other, so that the one can hear what the other is saying. Within the staging of this picture, the person listening is the more powerful, the person speaking is at his service.

The whisper could be a kiss, it could be Judas betraying Christ, but in political iconography the hushed words amount to the equivalent of a bow. The photographic close-up can portray power through small details. Presidents still stage massive baroque festivals such as the inauguration or helicoptering out to an aircraft carrier, but film allows the masses to look upon the intimate relations between politicians as if they were seeing power’s moment of truth.


The photographic image allows the viewer to share the proximity of the two speakers, that they are so close to another that one can feel the breath of the other. Whatever they are saying, and this information is always left out, it must be important judging by their posture. The more neutral the facial expression, the more important the message. A blank stare suggestions intense reflection upon what is being said, and a careful calculation of how to respond.

Hank Walker's famous poster of John and Robert Kennedy emphasized the fraternal balance between the brothers, their seated posture directly in front of each other, face to face. The usual relationship is reversed: the President speaks, the Attorney General listening. This conversation grows out of family intimacy, it has happened many times, often about ordinary things, but the pose here, the photographer's respectful distance, still show the hierarchy between equals.

As the court painter for the Gonzaga family, Dukes of Mantua, Andrea Mantegna used this whispering image in a fresco within the ducal palace. This “painted room,” camera picta, was an interior space, not open to the general public. It was intended to impress important guests, not the populace. After a visit to the palace, Milanese Duke Galeazzo Sforza was so taken with it that he wrote to the Mantuan that his room was the most beautiful in the world, and that he wished he had had his portrait on the wall.

In other words the painting in this room made one Duke envious of the other.

Mantegna places the reigning Duke Gonzaga seated in the far left corner of the painting. Surrounded by his family, the Duke can observe a line of courtiers approaching him, but his attention turns at that very instant to receive a letter from a messenger, who is bowing hat in hand at his side whispering a message. The conversation between Duke and messenger takes precedence over the reception, yet the ceremony continues. In other words, the Duke is often interrupted by messengers, and all the court participants take the exchange in stride.

Two levels of power are on display: first, the Duke receiving his subjects in his palace and then, second, the presumably important message from afar. Mantegna does not need to use loud images to celebrate the Duke. Anyone viewing the painting would already have gained some access to the Duke, thus the display of his rank could subtler.

The painting's political message is a favorite of photographers in Washington. The most recent version is the shot of Rahm Emmanuel whispering something important to President Obama. When it first appeared the image conveyed that finally again smart men were making intelligent decisions about policy. That there might be a Machiavellian quality to the political calculation was hardly a problem, for at least it was not a decision made on instinct. Sometimes the picture gets used to suggest a sinister side to the White House—does the chief of staff have too much power, but we are so familiar with the icon that we cannot help admire it.


If American viewers have imported an Italian appreciation of the hard calculations that the posture implies, it is not from admiring Mantegna, but rather from watching “The Godfather.” Brando raises his hand to hear the whispered request. As movie viewers we are allowed to hear the statement, as well as Brando’s response.

The great lesson of American politics: “He has been loyal, but what has he done for us lately.”