Marriage of Saint Catherine c. 18th century

Editor: This is Lorenzo Zucchi's "Marriage of Saint Catherine," made sometime in the 1700s. It’s an engraving, so the lines are incredibly precise, but it feels crowded. What do you see in the production of this print? Curator: The printmaking process itself – the labor, the tools, the press – becomes central. Consider the social context: who was commissioning these prints, and for what purpose? The coats of arms tell a story. Editor: So, it’s less about the religious aspect and more about the social and economic forces at play in its creation? Curator: Precisely. How does the materiality of the print – the paper, the ink – affect its reception and consumption by different audiences then and now? Editor: I never considered it from that angle before. Thanks! Curator: It’s another way of understanding the cultural work an artwork performs.