Joseph, Mary and Jesus Returning to Nazareth c. 1576 - 1580

Curator: Here we have a rather small, but incredibly detailed engraving: "Joseph, Mary and Jesus Returning to Nazareth" created around 1576-1580 by Léonard Gaultier. Editor: It strikes me immediately as almost dreamlike, but tinged with this quiet anticipation. It feels…domestic and yet strangely monumental, seeing as the Holy Family seems smaller than everything that surrounds them. Curator: Right, there’s a narrative woven into this detailed landscape. The engraving as a medium really lends itself to this incredible density of information. Consider the labor and craft here. We see the landscape of their time; note the material conditions of 16th century life. Editor: It’s the tiny details, isn’t it? Like the sheep dotting the hills, or the watermill. It is grounding this very significant, you could even say ‘other-worldly,’ moment. And the composition has such a beautiful flow – look how our eyes follow them from the left side to that arched city entrance. There's a feeling that they're passing between two ways of living. Curator: Indeed! Gaultier would’ve used specific tools for each stage - burins, scrapers and burnishers - each impacting the paper differently, thus rendering this textured world into being. This return to Nazareth would’ve resonated with its intended audience; an image for them to grasp the social, moral structure and foundation of their existence. Editor: The way the light catches on Mary’s halo...it's less about blinding faith, but more like…hopeful resilience. Or a kind of inner knowing, wouldn’t you agree? Almost melancholic? Curator: I appreciate the intuitive read, but I lean more towards considering how this piece serves as an exemplar for social narratives in printmaking of the time, considering material conditions for production and consumption within a socio-religious matrix. Editor: Well, either way, there's definitely a story being told, isn’t there? Something about the textures of the human heart amidst this overwhelming history. Curator: Ultimately, it’s about how material conditions imprint onto even sacred subjects.