The Sermon on Love n.d.

Charles Clément Bervic created "The Sermon on Love," a print, sometime before his death in 1822. The eye is immediately drawn to the figures arranged in a carefully staged scene, balanced between light and shadow. Bervic’s strategic use of chiaroscuro models the forms and directs our gaze. Note how the bodies of the figures and classical architecture punctuate the composition to create a sense of depth. The artist has structured the composition around the figures, who are engaged in various states of amorous interaction. The linear quality of the engraving emphasizes the delicate details of their garments and expressions. The work's semiotic structure points us towards cultural codes which may have informed the artwork's making and reception. The print destabilizes traditional representations of love by placing the theme within a secular, almost theatrical space. Instead of religious iconography, Bervic uses classical sculpture as a backdrop, suggesting a shift in the cultural values of the time. The artwork is less a 'sermon' and more an observation on the performative aspects of love and courtship.