Editor: Here we have Jusepe de Ribera's "Jacob with the Flock of Laban," painted in 1632, rendered in oil on canvas. It has such an intimate, almost theatrical quality to it. What do you see in this piece, something that perhaps jumps out at you? Curator: What jumps out, my dear, is the very human longing etched on Jacob's face, the profound weariness in his eyes that seems to speak across centuries. Ribera wasn’t just painting a biblical scene, he was painting a shared experience. He painted longing as a sort of beautiful malady. He's yearning. And those sheep, huddling close, they mirror that vulnerability. Don't you think? Editor: I agree. There’s a protective quality to his stance. It's as if he’s both shepherd and shielded. Why do you think he emphasized that connection? Curator: Perhaps Ribera understood that we're all, in some way, tending to our own flocks. He has this incredible sensitivity, like he can pick up on every single shade of grey in a moment of quiet despair and hopeful perseverance. Do you see what I mean? He painted that, too. The *everything*. The human burden made magnificent by…well, by us carrying on, just like Jacob did. Editor: So, in seeing Jacob's story, we also see ourselves. It's a portrait of faith in the everyday. Thank you for shedding light on that. Curator: The light was always there, darling. Ribera just knew how to paint the switch that turns it on. Now I want to run to nature… the same nature which the work reflects.