Paradiso Canto 1 

Curator: Here we have "Paradiso, Canto 1," a drawing attributed to Gustave Dore. It depicts figures amid a cloudscape, ascending towards a radiant light. Editor: My first thought? It's breathtaking. The sheer volume of angelic figures, almost blinding, contrasts so starkly with the quiet observation of the two figures below. A sublime imbalance. Curator: Absolutely. Dore was a master of engraving, charcoal, and ink – and these prints circulated widely. Consider how reproductive technology impacted access to visions of the divine for everyday people. It moves artistic consumption beyond wealthy patrons, democratizing even religious art. Editor: It’s as though Dore has bottled a dream. All those serried ranks of angels, not precisely detailed but shimmering suggestions of angelic form. As an artist, I love the risk of implying form, leaving space for imagination. What is faith, if not imaginative work? Curator: And how do we consider "Romanticism" with its inherent pushback to the Industrial Revolution when viewing his work? Think about printmaking: industrialized art production meant wider dissemination but was created by countless hands in the service of a single artist's vision. What labor conditions allowed Dore's visions to take shape? Editor: A good point, one rarely considers, contemplating this stairway to heaven! The effect is transporting, yes, but perhaps that's precisely its ideological work? Lifting us away from the earthiness of the social realities of its making… I get swept away by it though. Curator: Yes, its ability to stir intense emotion is part of its lasting appeal. Dore's style resonates even now because he combined skilled craftsmanship with intense dramatic effect, capturing a longing for spiritual transcendence that persists. Editor: A somber but soaring end note: It reminds us that behind even the most seemingly ethereal visions lie very material conditions of production, and reminds me, and us I hope, to see how context is vital.