A Villa on the Night of a Festa di Ballo c. 19th century

Editor: This is "A Villa on the Night of a Festa di Ballo" by Edward Goodall, housed at the Harvard Art Museums. It's a very delicate print, almost dreamlike. What stands out to you about it? Curator: The print’s ethereal quality belies the very material processes that birthed it. Consider the engraver's labor, the cost of the paper and ink, the systems of distribution that placed this image within reach of a specific consumer class. Editor: That's an interesting way to frame it. I was just thinking about the moonlight! Curator: Even moonlight is subject to material conditions: atmospheric particles, the chemical composition of the paper affecting how we perceive the tones. How does that lens shift your appreciation? Editor: It makes me think about the layers of work and resources behind even the simplest image. Thanks for pointing that out!