Madonna Nursing the Christ Child 1592

Editor: This is Ludovico Carracci's "Madonna Nursing the Christ Child." It's an intimate scene, but the stark lines of the engraving create a strong contrast. What can you tell me about it? Curator: Consider the implications of depicting Mary, the mother, and not only the religious icon. This normalizes a maternal experience that is simultaneously sacred and quotidian. How does this challenge power structures within religious art? Editor: So, it's about reclaiming female agency? Curator: It’s about questioning the singular narrative of divinity, complicating it with the multifaceted role of womanhood, specifically motherhood. It asks us to consider whose stories are told and how. Does that shift your perspective? Editor: Yes, it certainly does! It's much more radical than I initially thought.