La Madonna di San Francesco c. 19th century

Curator: Let's turn our attention to Peter Lutz's "La Madonna di San Francesco," currently residing in the Harvard Art Museums. It presents a scene of Madonna and child with figures from Christian tradition. Editor: My immediate impression is one of formality, a kind of staged solemnity. The composition is dense, almost claustrophobic, despite the apparent grandeur. Curator: Indeed. And while the subject matter is religious, what fascinates me is how Lutz uses the graphic process to flatten the image, creating a kind of democratization of the sacred. Editor: Interesting take. It feels that rather than demystify, this work elevates the means of pictorial representation. It is really just showing the manual effort required to build up something that appears "weightless." Curator: Perhaps. The layers upon layers of graphic work reveal a process of painstaking crafting... a devotion expressed materially. Editor: Precisely, devotion made visible. And perhaps that's the true subject here - the labor, the process, the material testament to faith. Curator: A thought-provoking interpretation; in essence, the process becomes the art itself. Editor: Exactly. It's about the visible act of creation.