Scene Seven c. 17th century

Curator: This is "Scene Seven" by Johanna Sibylla Kraus, housed here at the Harvard Art Museums. The image presents an almost dream-like quality. Editor: Yes, a landscape rendered with such linear intensity and figures in the field, actively at work. I am curious about the wheat, the labor… Curator: It is certainly an interesting social commentary. The print would have been circulated widely, shaping opinions and solidifying religious and political narratives. Editor: And what a narrative constructed through laborious etched lines. Look at the detail of the clothing, but also the labor taking place, a material reality. Curator: It speaks to how accessible religious imagery became, and the power it held in shaping cultural identity. Editor: A narrative built line by painstaking line, each mark a testament to the artist's labor, isn't it? Curator: It leaves you pondering the role of art in society then and now, doesn't it? Editor: Indeed. The materiality of labor and faith, all interconnected in this small scene.