Heilige Familie 1735 - 1777

Editor: So, here we have "Heilige Familie" – the Holy Family – by Bartolomeo Crivellari, made sometime between 1735 and 1777. It looks like a print, maybe an engraving. There's such a delicate feel to it. What strikes me is how Joseph is sort of in the background. How do you interpret this work? Curator: That's a great observation! Given the socio-political context of the 18th century, representations of the Holy Family, like this one, weren’t just devotional images. They also played a role in shaping the ideals of family structure and the roles within it. Notice how Mary, as the mother, is centrally placed and illuminated, holding the child, which reinforces her importance, but at the expense of diminishing Joseph, relegated to a shadow at the margins. Why do you think that composition choice would resonate at the time? Editor: Perhaps because it reinforced patriarchal societal structures while still giving a nod to motherhood. Was it sort of a careful balancing act? A way to portray a perfect, albeit unrealistic, family dynamic in art? Curator: Exactly! Images like this participated in the wider discourse about familial duties. This image does carry social and even institutional weight by participating in and perpetuating power dynamics of the period. The engraving itself, as a reproductive medium, helped circulate these ideals widely through society. What do you make of the choice to include the quote? Editor: I guess it is there to give viewers something concrete, inarguable to latch onto, rooting it back in religious authority as they consider family dynamics, even when those ideas are being perpetuated in very biased ways? Curator: Precisely. It encourages us to think about the layers of meaning within the piece. The way art and societal expectations become intertwined! Editor: I’ll definitely look at similar pieces with fresh eyes now, thinking about how they played a role in wider social and power structures.