Christ Carrying the Cross, from "The Passion of Christ" 1610 - 1700

Editor: This is "Christ Carrying the Cross," part of "The Passion of Christ" series, made sometime between 1610 and 1700, and credited to Nicolas Cochin. It's an engraving, so the line work is really prominent. What strikes me is how much detail is packed into such a small print. What stands out to you about this piece? Curator: Immediately, I see a piece heavily invested in its own mode of production. Engraving is a distinctly reproductive medium. Each strike of the burin into the copperplate, each pass through the press – a deliberate, labour-intensive act aimed at multiplication, reaching a broader market. Consider how the *process* itself dictates the stark contrasts, the rigid lines – influencing our reading of suffering and sacrifice. What about the materials employed? Editor: That's interesting. I hadn't thought about the printmaking process affecting our interpretation of the subject matter. So the deliberate, reproductive nature amplifies a certain kind of industrialization even of a holy subject? Curator: Precisely. The commercial element can't be ignored. Prints like this facilitated the circulation of religious narratives. Think of the socioeconomic implications. Was it accessible to the working class? Did its affordability democratize religious art or was the intention behind production about control? Furthermore, the artist chooses intaglio for this reproduction of “Christ’s passion”, not a simpler and more widely available alternative – the selection itself becomes meaning. How does it connect to the narrative in the image? Editor: The material and technique become a way to interpret it; how the suffering in the artwork itself echoes a kind of manual labor. This also gives me a different view of the intended audience. It is about who could access the artwork through these engravings! Curator: Indeed! Focusing on the materiality and means of production reveals that it has shifted my understanding of the print and also its audience.