Sea Monster (in two fragments) 1548 - 1612

Editor: Here we have "Sea Monster (in two fragments)" a pen and ink drawing by Bernardino Poccetti, dating roughly from 1548 to 1612. The Mannerist style makes a striking impression, yet there's also something fragmented and incomplete that’s so compelling about it. What can you tell me about its composition? Curator: Let's begin with the obvious disruption: it's fragmented. Yet, this division also highlights the interplay of line and form. Note how the sinuous curves of the sea monster’s tail in the first fragment echo and contrast with the angularity of the griffin-like creature in the second. The use of hatching to create tonal variations gives depth to the forms, emphasizing their three-dimensionality, though we are looking at essentially outline drawings. Editor: That contrast is really interesting. So, the lines are almost like…creating separate identities within the work, even though it's the same drawing, or intended as the same drawing. Curator: Precisely. Observe also the negative space around each fragment. It isolates and emphasizes their individual forms, thereby underscoring the deliberate visual separation within a cohesive design. The question arises: Is the incompleteness and rupture of this piece, a deliberate choice designed to mirror something greater about its content? Editor: Hmm. I hadn't considered the negative space in that way before. So you’re suggesting the form itself contributes to the narrative, even if we don’t know exactly what that narrative is? Curator: Exactly. In fact, let's call it the genesis of narrative possibilities within this seemingly fragmented work, ripe for further inquiry.