Hemelvaart van Christus 1738 - 1815

Curator: Here we have Francesco Bartolozzi's engraving, "Hemelvaart van Christus," likely created between 1738 and 1815. Editor: It strikes me as both grand and ethereal. The figures are dynamic, almost bursting from the surface, yet there’s a muted, grayscale palette that evokes a sense of transcendence and removal. Curator: Precisely. The composition employs a sophisticated play of light and shadow, typical of the Baroque period. Notice the arrangement of the figures—how Bartolozzi uses them to guide the eye upward, emphasizing the ascending movement and dramatic perspective. The artist invites viewers into the piece using visual queues with distinct tonal balances that provide visual layering and depth. Editor: That ascension narrative is really key here. How does Bartolozzi position Christ? Is he depicted as actively ascending under his own power or as being carried by others? I ask because in considering period politics, divine right of kings were at the peak during Bartolozzi's life. Are there implications of class structures or cultural status narratives being shown? Curator: That's a very perceptive point. Note Christ's draped cloth, and its light coloring versus the other angel figures who surround Christ with darker hues that appear almost like guards, or even captors. What is Bartolozzi implying through this treatment? Editor: In thinking about context, the art market during Bartolozzi's time were primarily aristocrats, suggesting an appeal towards a patron seeking an elevated status for themselves by depicting powerful angelic support for Jesus as divine king, or potentially Christ's symbolic departure away from a crumbling civilization. Curator: Your observation of his market is helpful. There's certainly a tension in the composition, wouldn't you agree? Perhaps reflecting a deeper ambivalence about earthly power and divine authority, given his career? Editor: It seems like it, but I wish more work remained that directly referenced Bartolozzi's life. Without knowing definitively more about his background, his engraving feels more like it captures humanity's universal ambivalence regarding spirituality as our physical bodies decay from earth and attempt their transformation and navigation through time towards an ethereal ascension into something other-worldly. Curator: A wonderful synthesis of form and possible cultural context. His masterful use of engraving brings forth emotional complexity.