The Pilgrims c. 1775

Editor: This etching, “The Pilgrims,” made around 1775 by Gaetano Gandolfi, seems to capture a moment of everyday life. It looks like a crowded street scene, maybe a marketplace? What strikes you most about it? Curator: For me, it is the way Gandolfi foregrounds the materials of daily life through the etching process. The etching needle, the metal plate, the ink, the paper - these humble materials collaborate to depict figures in worn clothing, burdened with the tools and emblems of their pilgrimage. How does the physical act of creating this print speak to the pilgrims' journey? Editor: I hadn't really considered the process itself! It does seem significant that the details are brought to life with such fine lines. The signs held high by some figures are particularly noticeable. Are those satirical? Curator: Possibly. Consider that printmaking in this period served a crucial function in disseminating ideas and social commentary. The crisp, repeatable lines allowed for mass production and distribution. Those signs – think of them as proto-billboards – become essential tools in the material construction of public opinion. Are they advertising relics, pronouncements, or perhaps legal instruments directing and governing their actions? Editor: So the artist is not just showing us pilgrims, but also hinting at the larger system around them, using the materials of the printmaking to draw our attention to the socio-economic structure? Curator: Precisely! The materials of art become a lens to examine the means of production and social context that shaped the lives of Gandolfi’s pilgrims, revealing a complex relationship between piety, poverty, and propaganda. It invites us to think about the networks of making, labor, and belief systems that sustain human movement and faith. Editor: I will never see an etching the same way again. Thank you for sharing your perspective.