Het wonder van de zeven broden en de twee vissen 1583

Curator: We’re now looking at “The Miracle of the Seven Loaves and Two Fish,” an engraving created in 1583 by Abraham de Bruyn, currently held at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: The overwhelming impression I get is one of multitude and implied labor. Look at all those figures! And I wonder about the printing process—engraving is painstaking work, isn’t it? Curator: It is indeed. The composition echoes the Bible story: Christ performing a miracle. The visual symbols are overt; we can identify Christ, the fish, and the bread, each holding deep significance. Notice how the crowd gathers in what appears to be almost reverent silence in anticipation. Editor: Silence, maybe, but I see all of those tiny lines etched to create the image, likely by a workshop. Each mark required focused physical effort and the costs associated with these efforts; not to mention, the price of materials – the metal plate, ink, paper – made it something most people simply could not have. I think this object implies that, although the subject is charity, its mere presence demonstrates power and inequality. Curator: That’s an interesting point. Consider the way de Bruyn, an artist of the Northern Renaissance, frames the scene. There's a strong sense of organization amidst what would have likely been experienced as utter chaos and a hunger-driven fervor. It makes the message of hope and faith even more poignant and potent. Editor: Poignant, maybe, but look closely at how these objects were created. I see social context in these processes, the means through which people engaged with ideas and commerce, the politics of consumption. To understand these processes makes us reassess traditional perspectives about this religious subject, no matter what we believe about the Bible. Curator: A valuable point! In a small printed image, a world of symbolic meanings intersect with the demands of production and human effort to convey meaning and affect in many forms. Editor: Exactly, it makes you wonder what stories can the process of creation unlock that art history typically silences.