Saint Veronica 1520 - 1530

Curator: What a serene tapestry, quite unlike some of the more dramatic scenes you find depicting saints. This one is "Saint Veronica," a mixed media work created around 1520-1530 by Bernard van Orley. It resides here at the Met. Editor: My initial impression? Melancholy. It feels so muted and soft, the colors faded as if telling a tale from a very long time ago, whispered across centuries. Even the floral border, beautiful as it is, feels subdued. Curator: The softness may stem from its construction; being a tapestry woven from threads naturally lends itself to softer lines than, say, a fresco. I find the tapestry's formal construction, particularly how the figure of Saint Veronica dominates the center, fascinating. Van Orley employs a sort of pictorial layering, creating depth within the woven surface. The rose borders further enhance this feeling of enclosed narrative. Editor: Yes, the face of Christ on the cloth is the centerpiece but, for me, her serene, almost sad expression really pulls me in. There's a gentleness in the eyes, a certain weary grace that invites introspection. It almost makes you forget the horror of the Passion it represents. I find myself wanting to imagine her story—the moment she offered the cloth, her feelings, what it felt like. Curator: Note also how the background functions almost as a landscape painting. You have secondary figures moving about. And, look closely—there's a bird in the upper right corner, which I think, contrasts vividly with the main action and subject of the textile. The textile thus operates on several levels, invoking a central biblical narrative but also a very grounded sense of real-time, real-space existence. Editor: That balance – the grounded earthly and the soaring divine—it’s quite powerful. It transforms the image of suffering into something not quite hopeful but definitely transcendent. Seeing this image, imagining it being made, one stitch at a time, brings her story, her humanity, into such intimate focus. Curator: A testament to van Orley’s craftsmanship and how art allows these echoes of humanity, divinity, and craft to reverberate through time. Editor: I couldn't have put it better. An encounter like this reminds us how powerful it can be to view artworks slowly and with genuine attention.