Opgraving van het lichaam van Thomas van Aquino 1610

Editor: So, here we have Egbert Van Panderen’s "Opgraving van het lichaam van Thomas van Aquino," an engraving from 1610, currently housed in the Rijksmuseum. I’m immediately struck by the almost theatrical quality of the scene, the way the figures are posed around the body. What stands out to you? Curator: It's interesting you say 'theatrical,' because prints like this served a vital public function. Disseminating imagery, particularly around figures the Church promoted for sainthood, like Thomas Aquinas, was crucial. Consider who the audience would have been for this print. Editor: People who were not at the physical ceremony but still cared about its religious implications, or who admired Thomas of Aquino. How would this image operate publicly? Curator: Precisely. Note how Panderen uses light and shadow – typical of Baroque style – to create a sense of drama and reverence, almost propagandistic. And, consider the inclusion of that framed picture, with an angelic figure watching someone asleep. How might we interpret it? Editor: I see it too, maybe it is related to the latin sentence just underneath, saying that “the holy man Abbati appeared in a dream”? Curator: An important detail that enhances a sense of miraculous narrative, absolutely. We should consider then, who controlled the means of production, such as this print and how was this imagery being used to reinforce established power structures and theological doctrine? The selection and dissemination of the story is hardly accidental. Editor: I hadn't thought about it as explicitly 'propagandistic', but I can now understand the role of art promoting public faith by depicting Thomas of Aquino’s exhumation as divinely significant. Curator: Seeing art in relation to the socio-political climate in which it was created really opens up these richer readings, doesn’t it?