Corpus Christi 1530 - 1555

Editor: Here we have "Corpus Christi", an engraving by Battista Franco, created sometime between 1530 and 1555. The detail is really striking, even though it’s a print. There’s such a sense of sorrow and tenderness in the angels’ faces as they support Christ. What emotions or stories do you see unfolding here? Curator: It feels, doesn’t it, like peering into a sacred, intensely private moment. Franco masterfully uses the starkness of engraving to amplify the raw emotion. The figures, bathed in a spiritual light, seem almost sculpted from grief itself. Do you notice how Christ's body is positioned? Editor: It kind of spills out of the frame, with his arm hanging down. Curator: Exactly. It is a bold move for the time! It forces us to confront the weight and physicality of his sacrifice. But it also seems incredibly deliberate. What could that overflowing form be saying to us, do you think? Editor: Maybe that suffering can't be contained, that it's something that overflows into the world? Or maybe it speaks to his humanity? Curator: Yes, precisely! He has vulnerabilities. Think about the Renaissance ideals of the perfectly proportioned body; Franco is playing with those ideas, imbuing this idealized form with humanity and suffering. The almost obsessive detail in the musculature clashes so beautifully with that limp arm. And those angels – are they comforting or are they mourners? It feels like both, doesn’t it? Editor: Absolutely! The conversation between grief and comfort. This engraving feels much more intimate than grand history paintings of the time. Curator: And that tension, that pushing and pulling…that’s where the magic happens, right? It makes us feel present. To think about the stories engravings can still whisper after all this time!