Welcome panel 1600 - 1615

Curator: Here we have a "Welcome panel," crafted anonymously sometime between 1600 and 1615. It's currently housed here at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and executed with stained glass and paint. Editor: It’s quite striking; a certain chilliness permeates the scene. Is it the rigid posture of the figures or the color palette that makes me feel this way? It seems both celebratory and somehow somber. Curator: I find it fascinating how the lead lines dictate the rhythm and the very composition. Note how the artist has meticulously arranged the panes to define shapes, thereby creating visual interest. Editor: Absolutely. And given that we are considering it as a 'welcome' panel, shouldn't the symbolism around the two figures interest us? She is extending what appears to be a goblet towards him, as a man stands rigidly armored as he's received in return. Curator: Indeed, the contrasting textures – the smoothness of the glass against the density of the paint, coupled with its transparency, serve to play with depth and light, which alters based on the viewer’s vantage point. Editor: Wouldn't you agree it has something to do with the familiar cultural themes of hospitality? To think of this particular panel as some expression of a truce, as perhaps offering to 'break bread'. How it plays out is up to the viewer... or the knight in the frame, if he chooses. Curator: The fractured nature of the medium adds layers of abstraction and invites further deconstruction of its narrative, don’t you agree? I consider what impact that offers... Editor: Exactly. The visual grammar, loaded with symbolic exchange, tells so much in its formal design. This little journey has offered me yet a clearer lens to analyze the human experience of welcome throughout history. Curator: Quite right. By considering structure and symbols, we not only appreciate this piece of stained glass, but further expand on its story.