Jesu Via et Vita Nostra / Jesu Thesaurus Fidelium 1894

Curator: This is Charles-Marie Dulac's "Jesu Via et Vita Nostra / Jesu Thesaurus Fidelium" from the Harvard Art Museums collection. The scene feels very pastoral, but also tinged with melancholy. Editor: The monochrome, almost sepia, palette lends a somber feel, yes. I'm drawn to the field—the furrows emphasize labor and land cultivation. What material process did Dulac employ here? Curator: It's a lithograph, a process allowing for nuanced tonal gradations, which certainly adds to the ethereal quality. Note the prominent tree—a symbol of life, but also of the cross, anchoring the composition. Editor: Absolutely. And the labor in the fields, a metaphor for earthly toil mirroring spiritual devotion. The very act of creating the lithograph would have involved a similar kind of labour. Curator: It’s a testament to Dulac’s ability to imbue the ordinary with symbolic weight, hinting at the spiritual journey within everyday life. The title itself points to Jesus as both path and treasure. Editor: Indeed, the artwork beautifully marries the physical act of labor with deeper spiritual meaning. I leave this lithograph with a renewed appreciation for the labor imbued in the earth and in the art.