Holy Family with Saints Catherine and John the Evangelist and an Angel c. 1615

Curator: The textures jump out at me—a flurry of etched lines! Editor: This is Jacques Bellange's "Holy Family with Saints Catherine and John the Evangelist and an Angel," currently residing at the Harvard Art Museums. The subject is obviously the Madonna and Child. Curator: Yes, but look closer at those swirling lines! The composition, though dense, is balanced by the stark contrast of light and shadow. It's almost theatrical. Editor: It is theatrical, very much in keeping with the Lorraine style of the period. Bellange seems to be making a commentary about the place of women in early modern society—Madonna, Catherine, even the Angel, all are presented with power. Curator: Power perhaps, but also considerable artifice. The composition draws the eye upwards. Editor: True, though the figures appear to subvert the male gaze by looking away from the viewer. Curator: It's a complex piece both visually and, as you say, culturally. Editor: Indeed—a potent reminder of the intersection between faith and social dynamics in 17th-century Europe.