Saint John the Martyr c. 17th century

Curator: Gosh, it's grim. The whole scene feels so detached, clinical almost. Like a play being enacted on a stage. Editor: Indeed. What we see here is Jacques Callot's "Saint John the Martyr," currently residing at the Harvard Art Museums. It's a tiny etching, only about 3 by 2 inches. Curator: An etching? Amazing, the detail! All those tiny lines creating depth and horror. I feel a peculiar blend of fascination and revulsion. Editor: Callot was a master of etching. This work would have been part of a series, likely intended for private devotion and public edification during the Counter-Reformation. The martyrdom of saints was a common theme, designed to inspire faith. Curator: Inspire faith through...torture? It’s interesting how violence becomes aestheticized, almost beautiful, from this distance. Editor: Well, such images reinforced the power of the Church, the consequences of heresy. They served a clear political purpose. Curator: Still, there's something unsettling about finding beauty in brutality, don’t you think? Editor: History often presents us with such uncomfortable paradoxes, doesn’t it? Curator: Absolutely. Makes you think, doesn't it?