Apostel Andreas 1570 - 1600

Curator: Johann Sadeler I, sometime between 1570 and 1600, gave us this engraving: Apostel Andreas. What’s your immediate sense of this piece? Editor: Stark. And strangely… cozy? All those lines create texture, almost like a very detailed tapestry. Curator: Exactly! See how the engraver uses the lines? The materiality of the print *is* the message. Consider the paper it's on; what would that have meant in this period? Prints were multiplying information and allowing for a democratization of access to images. Editor: It is amazing to me how it could reach people, to spread and proliferate ideas in this form. It is interesting to see how that reflects in his tired and weary look. He has carried this big cross—what does that represent? How does he feel about this object? Curator: I agree with the weariness that we can all feel it, deeply. The cross? A paradox! Symbol of profound suffering and simultaneously unshakeable faith. He hugs that rough timber. Can you feel his skin, etched by time? Sadeler used light and shadow with such intimacy. He feels incredibly alive to me, yet burdened. Editor: The engraver's skill highlights something else to me. Think of the artisan who had to create this matrix, the labour! We look at 'fine art' portraits of Apostles, but forget all the makers, suppliers of ink and tools. How were they organized, what were their wages? What did it mean to produce and consume prints? Curator: Another way to see faith represented: devotion as the craft itself! It must have demanded countless hours of unwavering focus. Almost meditative. So the physical work mirrors Andrew's own dedication, a tangible devotion turned into a portrait to be disseminated to the masses! Editor: Precisely. It all feels deeply human and tangible—faith through labor, imagery across distances… A quiet rebellion using ink and paper. Thank you for sharing. Curator: Absolutely. A holy mission—multiplying Andrew’s likeness. Food for thought for me, indeed!