Maria Magdalena in de wildernis 1690 - 1700

Editor: This engraving, "Maria Magdalena in de wildernis," likely dates from between 1690 and 1700. It's by an anonymous artist, and the stark contrasts achieved through intaglio really create a somber mood. What strikes you most about this piece? Curator: What immediately grabs me is the labor embedded in this seemingly devotional image. Intaglio printing, specifically engraving, demands immense skill and time. Consider the engraver, toiling perhaps under economic pressures, using meticulous technique to replicate an image intended to inspire spiritual contemplation in a market-driven economy. Editor: That's a perspective I hadn't considered. I was focused on the iconography, her nudity suggesting vulnerability and piety. Curator: Precisely, the tension lies in the production of this image, potentially commodifying even such a seemingly austere depiction of religious experience. The "nude" form here, crafted for consumption, underscores societal power structures affecting both the model, if there was one, and the artist. How does the print medium, cheap and easily mass produced, change your view? Editor: I guess it makes it less… singular. More about wider distribution than personal devotion. Curator: And who were those consumers? Was it the church who distributed such an image? Wealthy art collectors who framed the prints as decorations? How does the baroque artistic context plays a role to it? All of that is materialized in the print! Editor: So, by focusing on the material and its production, we can reveal a lot about its societal function and the pressures on the artist. Curator: Absolutely! It's not just about aesthetic appreciation. We can really get into the economics and mechanics that lead to this piece’s creation and dissemination, and how the message it shares changed with the way it was made. Editor: That’s a powerful shift in perspective for me. I see the image very differently now, and will keep my eye on the engraving as a product itself next time!