Man Reading 1600 - 1700

Curator: Looking at this work, I'm struck by how immediate it feels despite its age. Editor: Absolutely, there is a sense of timelessness in the piece. We’re looking at "Man Reading", an intriguing drawing dating from sometime in the 17th century, currently held here at The Met. What strikes me most is the raw quality of the red chalk and ink. It looks like we’re catching this man in a private moment. Curator: Agreed. The materials really emphasize that feeling. It is fascinating how the artist uses red chalk, ink and pen to create different textures, especially on the face and the hands. Note how the pen-work around the lettering suggests a sense of weight to the paper, yet simultaneously renders it thin. Editor: And there is an intriguing social aspect as well. The availability of paper and literacy during that era implies certain privileges. It certainly highlights a cultural landscape valuing contemplation and knowledge, wouldn’t you say? We might ask about the place of reading itself during this time, especially what texts were read by individuals such as this one and in what circumstances they encountered them. Curator: Precisely. The materiality and process also speak to the economies of artmaking. Red chalk was relatively accessible, making drawings like this potentially studies for larger works or autonomous works made for a specific, often more intimate market. The accessibility would certainly alter the type of consumer for this artwork. Editor: That's an interesting point. Given the style and probable Italian Renaissance origin, you can certainly picture this drawing within a particular collector’s cabinet, traded between academies, or given as gifts among learned elites. Curator: Yes, consider too how the artist is representing not just a man reading, but the act of reading itself— a technology of knowledge production being rendered using other technologies of image making! Editor: So true! It makes you wonder about the status afforded to books, writing, and literacy itself during this period of dramatic social transformation. Thank you for walking me through the nuances of this incredible piece, your insights on materiality certainly broadened my perspective. Curator: And thank you, contextualizing artwork in the period is vital for analysis, particularly in this case when we can easily overlook the impact that an image such as this one might have on contemporary viewers.