Ceremonie der confirmatie 1604 - 1665

Curator: My first impression is almost spectral, like looking at figures through fog. Editor: I understand. What you're sensing in this ink and paper drawing is the artistic skill of Nicolas Poussin at work. What's currently exhibited at the Rijksmuseum is titled "Ceremonie der confirmatie," thought to have been produced sometime between 1604 and 1665. Curator: "Ceremony of Confirmation," it’s quite literal. Seeing it as a snapshot—or well, a sketch of a sacred tradition, framed with so much…absence. There is detail but without the comfort of definition. Editor: And perhaps that mirrors the period? We are viewing Baroque art, which often plays with chiaroscuro, this heavy contrast between light and shadow, which manifests literally but perhaps also spiritually within the context of counter-reformation Europe. Curator: Do you think so? I suppose the heavy lining feels suitably dramatic, it just lacks the emotional punch I expect from this style. Editor: Look at how Poussin leads the eye. See how those lines converge at the figure administering confirmation, at once centering him and dwarfing him within this vast, architecturally assertive space? Consider the period influences of academic art practices. It could indicate his perspective. The power dynamics inherently within church functions. The feeling could be commentary or could be an echo chamber of feelings that existed and were unsaid. Curator: Maybe I am expecting the lines to speak for themselves. I appreciate the scale; you’re right to point it out. It creates an interesting dynamic, like observing a memory played out in the periphery, both intimate and impossibly distant. Thanks for expanding my perception. Editor: The beauty of encountering art, isn't it? To understand an approach. Curator: Absolutely, bringing forth perspectives.