Engelen ondersteunen het lichaam van Christus 1594

Editor: So, this engraving, "Engelen ondersteunen het lichaam van Christus," made in 1594 by Conrad Goltz, really strikes me. The figures are so muscular and dramatically posed. What is your take on this piece? Curator: Given the historical context of Goltzius’s workshop, the labour of production of this piece seems most telling. Consider the means. Engraving required immense skill and time. The very act of incising lines into the copperplate is labour intensive. How does this intensive, physical process inform your understanding of the final print? Editor: Well, it makes me appreciate the dedication involved! Knowing it was engraved, all those lines suddenly feel significant, almost like acts of devotion. Curator: Precisely! The materiality and method invite questions about the societal structures. Consider how printmaking disseminated images and ideas to a wider audience than paintings could at that time. In thinking about the socio-political status afforded this distribution channel for iconography, to whom was this image intended, and what function was this object to play within that community? Editor: That's a great point. Prints were much more accessible and potentially propaganda. So, this image could be a call to faith or an attempt to promote specific religious interpretations among a wider audience. Curator: The distribution then directly ties to the intent, meaning and ultimately the purpose of the print itself. Therefore the object acts as witness to an historical place, social cause, belief and ultimately provides physical evidence to materials that held prominence during its genesis. It then makes us consider the cultural needs around labour and consumption as relevant forces that affect all stages within a artwork's creation. Editor: I never really considered the socio-economic elements of engraving before! I realize now how materiality and method had a ripple effect impacting even an image as such as this.