Costume Plate: Peasant Woman from Spain 1550 - 1563

Curator: Let’s turn our attention to "Costume Plate: Peasant Woman from Spain," an engraving made between 1550 and 1563 by Enea Vico, currently residing here at The Met. Editor: It strikes me immediately as somewhat melancholic. The woman’s averted gaze, the spare lines of the engraving... it evokes a sense of quiet introspection. Curator: Notice the meticulous detail Vico employed in capturing the textures of her garments. The draped fabric possesses a tangible quality. The way the light plays across its folds emphasizes a structured play of dark and light areas. Semiotically, we see the hat suggesting the veil may denote something to be revealed but yet is covered up. Editor: I find myself more intrigued by the implied labor. To create such fine lines, Vico would have needed highly polished tools, carefully maintained, and a great amount of skill developed through considerable time and labor. And the copper plate itself: where did that come from? Who mined it? How was it processed and by whom? The making tells a history of social practices. Curator: It is a history told through precise lines and considered composition. The plate balances depth, dimension, and restraint that brings the viewers gaze to a vanishing point beyond the frame and what looks like animal skin. The figure’s contrapposto stance enhances her noble, austere presence. Editor: Noble perhaps, but within the confines of her social position. She is still defined by her place in the labor system and production chain. Vico represents not only an individual but a set of relationships. Curator: Still, Vico elevates a “peasant woman” to the realm of high art through masterful command of form and a keen awareness of pictorial space. Editor: Indeed. Thinking about this image’s initial production and purpose, it makes one contemplate the role of craft, class, and image production in early modern Europe. A network of laborers support the fine art we consume, then and now. Curator: A vital point. "Costume Plate: Peasant Woman from Spain" offers endless questions, doesn’t it? It remains relevant across time, technique and cultural contexts. Editor: Yes. Art always is embedded in so much more than the surface reveals at first sight, or, first contact.