The Wedding at Cana 1518 - 1594

Curator: Oh, I am simply swept away by the beautiful undertones of "The Wedding at Cana", a drawing, existing in our collection at the SMK, Statens Museum for Kunst. A toned paper base, and worked on during the artist's lifetime, 1518 to 1594, if you can believe that. Editor: It feels, to me, like the organized chaos of any really good party, honestly. You know, people lugging kegs, other guests watching with amusement and, yes, with the kind of architecture of an unreal Italian ballroom where actual magic could happen, too. It makes you wonder, looking at this, about the conditions that made it real for the artist in the first place. Curator: Indeed. One cannot help but notice the sketchbook-like quality of this piece; an incomplete sketchy feeling, reminiscent of a watercolour illustration, so, maybe, originally intended for larger explorations. Perhaps it's even fair to say it's of a personal sketchbook nature? We're also definitely looking at a mixed medium production, I believe. The line work is exquisite, and then it has that very human sense, where we aren't exactly quite finished, but close enough that the eye fills the gaps. Editor: I like that interpretation! Think about it, though: Sketchbooks were sometimes presentation pieces themselves, meant to showcase the artist's thought process, or even the virtuosity of capturing something fleeting. This feels almost performative—showing not just the biblical event, but also the labor behind any grand celebration. People forget there's labor at all. Someone had to get these giant water jugs ready before they turn into wine. I wonder what type of pens, inks and other instruments went into creating something like this? Did it happen within the confines of a well-equipped workshop? Was there someone else handling pigments? All the "magic" in this image happened by someone's labor, and skill, for the purpose of an art that both reflects it, and might overshadow it too, for us, right now. Curator: True, but at least in this iteration, it almost elevates it from what could be mere material. In the end, I return again to the light and airy quality and get utterly carried away once more, knowing it is unfinished, not quite final, but full of the initial wonder. Editor: And for me, I am considering that this image might, in its incompleteness, prompt one to imagine everything that went into making it; all the work and social relations that come to light as part of its process.