Treeningheden. Forneden en monstrans 1563 - 1613

Editor: This is "Treeningheden. Forneden en monstrans," an ink drawing made sometime between 1563 and 1613 by Ventura Salimbeni, currently residing at the SMK in Copenhagen. It strikes me as a pretty standard religious scene, with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit all in the upper section, looking down upon what I think is a monstrance. How would you interpret it? Curator: I see here a careful examination of materials and the labor invested in this piece's creation. Consider the deliberate use of ink – readily available, relatively inexpensive – chosen to depict such a high-minded religious scene. What does that tension tell us? Is this a cost-saving decision, a conscious leveling of the sacred, or simply the practical choice of a preparatory sketch? Editor: That's a side I hadn't considered, I usually just think about artistic vision. What kind of meaning can be extracted from a decision like that? Curator: Look closer. The relatively accessible medium of ink, its capacity for mass production through prints – does this point toward a democratization of religious imagery? Salimbeni offers us a glimpse into the evolving material culture of the time, where religious devotion was increasingly mediated through mass-produced objects. The means of production are inherently part of the meaning. Editor: That's fascinating! The material choices influencing and reflecting cultural shifts… Curator: Exactly. Think about who commissioned this, how it was disseminated, and how its materiality speaks to its place within the broader landscape of religious and artistic consumption. Considering the function of this drawing - likely as a preparatory sketch - the means become the ends, in a way. Editor: So by considering ink as a material choice rather than simply an artistic tool, it unlocks all sorts of new avenues for interpreting this drawing. Thanks, I wouldn't have considered this! Curator: Likewise. It's always enlightening to re-examine our preconceived notions.