Schetsen van op de borst gekruiste handen 1588 - 1660

Editor: Here we have Giacomo Cavedone's "Sketches of Hands Clasped Over Chest," created sometime between 1588 and 1660 using pencil on paper. The image gives me a sense of introspection. What significance do you see in Cavedone's focus on hands, and what readings does this lend itself to? Curator: Cavedone's drawings can be viewed as more than anatomical studies; hands held and gestures were significant elements within the performance of gender, status, and class during the Renaissance. They signified piety, prayer, or submission. Considering the performative aspects of the body and, of course, who got to perform such actions, we can analyze them as tools of social power and regulation. What stories about power do these hand gestures tell, do you think? Editor: That’s fascinating! Thinking about them in this context, the clasping seems less about solemnity and perhaps more about restraint, or even suppression. Is that reading too…modern? Curator: Not at all. I think it’s useful to resist the urge to fix a singular reading onto historical gestures and poses, especially where social expectations play such a strong role. Where do we see echoes of such restrictions today? Editor: I see it, especially, in thinking about societal pressures regarding physical expression and body language for both men and women, across different cultural backgrounds and expectations, today. Thanks, I see so much more than a simple hand study now! Curator: Absolutely, thinking of art as always being in dialogue with these expectations helps reveal some very complicated relationships between individual, and their place in a given society.