Two putti seen from below 

Curator: Correggio’s red chalk drawing, "Two putti seen from below," currently residing here at the Städel Museum, presents an interesting study in figuration. Editor: Oh, the sweetness! They’re all soft, pillowy light and that gorgeous, almost rusty red-chalk. It feels like witnessing a secret, a cherubic daydream. Curator: Indeed. Correggio’s choice of red chalk invites us to consider its availability, its relative ease of use compared to pen and ink. Also, let's observe the social context; drawings like these were integral to the High Renaissance workshop system, serving as studies for larger compositions. Editor: Larger compositions! You're right. Now I can almost feel the scaffolding, smell the fresco dust. It is not just a sketch, it hints at an entire hidden industry to make artworks for the rich patrons. And that pose of the putto on top, reaching upwards with abandon. Is it ascending, reaching for divinity, or simply playing a game of peek-a-boo with the heavens? Curator: That tension, as you describe it, speaks to the drawing's function. It served the artist by testing angles, lighting, weight and so on. This piece is divorced from its traditional function and lives a new one inside the museum’s walls as object of veneration. I'd also like to note that the vantage point gives a rather interesting, unexpected perspective to these otherwise ubiquitous figures. Editor: Ubiquitous now, yes, perhaps, but in Correggio’s time? The vulnerability and the upwards view - were they radical, or was he catering to existing modes of imagining divinity? Still, they tug. Their innocence becomes something more knowing when we consider the material, the patronage system. It’s less cloud, more workshop. Curator: Precisely. The intersection of process, intention, and the art market forms a beautiful complexity of understanding. Editor: Right. From playful cherubs to economic landscapes. Who knew a sketch could hold so much weight. Curator: A testament to the enduring power of art historical study, perhaps? Editor: Indeed. Thanks for bringing down to earth what my instincts initially tried to lift up to heaven.