Rinuccini Chapel (basilica of Santa Croce) 1370

Curator: Look at this fresco! It's a fragment from the Rinuccini Chapel, part of the basilica of Santa Croce. Giovanni da Milano painted it around 1370. It is quite literally a piece of history. Editor: Immediately I’m struck by the tender, almost melancholic mood, and I sense of hushed reverence. Everyone seems so...internal, caught in their own thoughts, despite being in such close proximity. Curator: Yes, and that's interesting, considering what’s depicted. This piece illustrates a birth and specifically focuses on depictions of women's lives during childbirth and raising their babies. How interesting to view it today, to analyze such moments through time. Editor: Exactly! I find myself thinking about the power dynamics embedded in these religious narratives. Note how Mary is perpetually portrayed as docile, and submissive. Here it’s her passivity is amplified, a perfect archetype against which women were—and continue to be—measured. But I digress. Tell me a bit about da Milano. What do we know of their own...leanings? Curator: What's fascinating is that da Milano was known for this extraordinary level of detail and an ability to create believable depth. He painted portraits too; there’s a psychological realism here. Each face carries a distinctive, emotional weight. There's an intriguing intimacy... Editor: But that intimacy is precisely where I think we need to tread carefully. Aren’t these carefully curated glimpses into a world where only *certain* stories, certain types of figures—particularly women are sanctioned for representation? Curator: True, but in art—maybe in all forms of expression—what is *excluded* says just as much as what's included, doesn't it? Editor: I agree; thinking critically about these early-Renaissance paintings prompts these interesting thoughts and brings forth current discussions and theories, such as those by Silvia Federici or bell hooks...Thank you for providing the backdrop for this thoughtful journey!