Commemmoration of the Image of Christ c. 17th century

Curator: Looking at Jacques Callot's tiny etching, "Commemoration of the Image of Christ," I'm immediately struck by the raw vulnerability he captures with such simple lines. Editor: It's interesting that you say vulnerability because for me, the image feels staged. The cross is centered, but the gazes of the surrounding figures pull my attention toward the edges, away from Christ himself. Curator: Perhaps that's Callot's point? We’re meant to consider the act of commemoration, the spectatorship around suffering, rather than the suffering itself. The artist, born in 1592, renders Christ’s suffering from afar. Editor: Precisely. This work invites us to think critically about the narratives and power dynamics inherent in religious iconography. What does it mean to visually consume someone's pain? Curator: I see it as a meditation on faith, doubt, and the spaces in between. Editor: And I see it as a prompt to question whose stories are being told, and who benefits from the spectacle of suffering. Curator: Well, either way, it certainly sparks a dialogue, doesn't it? Editor: Absolutely. And that dialogue, in itself, is a form of commemoration, isn't it?