Een priester tijdens de consecratie 1650 - 1700

Editor: This pen and ink drawing, "Een priester tijdens de consecratie" – or "A Priest during the Consecration" – is by Vicente Salvador Gómez, and dates back to somewhere between 1650 and 1700. The Baroque linework creates a very ethereal and mystical sensation for me... What do you see in this piece? Curator: Well, you've touched on its mysticality and I think you're spot on. The delicate hatching, the floating cherubs...It feels as if we are peering into another dimension. It strikes me as almost a fleeting glimpse into the artist's spirituality. It's a peek into a mind in conversation with the divine, perhaps even, don't you think? And, dare I say it, it's Baroque with all its exuberance. The figures almost burst forth! What is the narrative, can you imagine it? Editor: I imagine it’s a very personal sketch— maybe preparatory work? It feels very immediate, almost intimate. The lines are quick, confident… But the angel figures above look so dynamic and emotive, even unfinished. Curator: Precisely. A "storyboard", as you say. Consider, too, how Gómez uses the ink, letting areas remain untouched. This adds to the work's dynamic energy, as well as its sense of the visionary. Where might such energy find its place today, I wonder? Editor: That’s such a good point, it's all the more interesting seeing how history informs the way we perceive contemporary art. It’s been very helpful looking at it this way. Curator: Indeed. The past always finds a way to converse with the present... and future! Thanks for sharing thoughts with me.