Virgin and Child before 1859

Curator: Standing before us is a wooden sculpture, dating back to before 1859, by Nikolaus Elscheidt. It's called "Virgin and Child." What are your initial thoughts? Editor: It feels very…grounded. I mean, literally – it's clearly carved from wood. You can practically feel the texture and see the tool marks. The simplicity gives it a weighty presence. Curator: Yes, the wood is remarkable! It invites a kind of raw intimacy, doesn’t it? Far from the ethereal Madonna's we are so used to, we get this feeling that it is made, cut by a craftsman's axe and hands. Editor: Absolutely. The materiality is so central. I keep thinking about the specific type of wood and where it came from. Was it locally sourced, I wonder, connecting the sculpture to a particular place and the artisan's everyday world? The medium is the message, literally. Curator: Perhaps. I think it pulls on something universal, something we all feel toward childhood, maternal figures, but at the same time it gives to Mary a humble human side, too. See her subtle downwards gaze, the almost sad set of her eyes? It makes you feel empathy, for a goddess, a mother! Editor: True, the expressiveness is undeniable. The drape of her robes are incredible. Yet the means of production can't be ignored. Think of the labor, the carving, the chiseling. These materials give a very specific dimension that marble can't achieve. Curator: Indeed. I feel this gives it warmth where marble is cold and unyielding. What a beautifully complex relationship between creator, subject, and material! Editor: Right! And the cracks visible in the wood just enrich this dialog even further; it makes you consider the process, the raw labor and tools, as equally divine in how the materials interact in creation and time. It invites such material reflection! Curator: Material and ethereal! Perfect synthesis, in the heart, mind and hands. Thanks for shedding such amazing new perspective on Elscheidt! Editor: Thanks! So much from simply looking at materials and labor!