Tobit I, II c. 16th century

Curator: Here we have Hans Holbein the Younger's woodcut print, "Tobit I, II," a scene brimming with domestic tension. Editor: My first thought? It’s raw, almost painfully so. You can practically feel the weight of their weary, worn lives etched into those stark lines. Curator: Absolutely. Holbein uses the medium to its fullest, doesn't he? Think about the labor involved in carving the image, the multiple impressions struck to distribute the image. Editor: And it’s that labor, that physicality, that gives it such power. It's not just a picture; it's a thing made, a testament to human endurance. Curator: I wonder if Holbein was also thinking of the labor of everyday life when he made it. The narrative shows the biblical Tobit dealing with blindness after bird poop falls into his eyes. Editor: Right, so it's not just about materials, but the material conditions of these people's lives. Curator: Exactly. It makes you consider what it means to see, or not to see, the world around us, doesn't it? Editor: It does, and I appreciate how grounded this piece is in its materiality. Makes the spiritual story more compelling, somehow.