Madonna and Child 1919

Curator: This is Eric Gill’s “Madonna and Child”, a wood engraving held in the Tate collections. Editor: It’s striking, the stark contrast between the black ink and the off-white paper. The simplification of form is quite powerful. Curator: Gill, deeply involved in the Arts and Crafts movement, explored the relationship between art, labor, and religious belief. He challenged the hierarchy that privileged painting and sculpture over printmaking. Editor: Yes, and this print speaks to that. It's readily reproducible, accessible. How does that democratizing impulse play into the socio-religious context of the time? Curator: The image circulated widely, reproduced in journals and books. Gill was interested in bringing sacred imagery into everyday life, not just keeping it in churches or museums. Editor: The flat planes, the reductive approach… I wonder about the woodblock itself. What kind of tools did he use? How did the grain influence the final image? Curator: Thinking about its function and material invites us to reflect on the many hands and processes involved. Editor: Absolutely. It really underscores how Gill blurred those boundaries, prompting us to reconsider what we value as 'art'.