The Entombment c. 1654

Editor: This is Rembrandt van Rijn’s "The Entombment," an etching. The figures huddle around a pale form, lit by a mysterious light. What narratives of power and vulnerability do you see in this depiction of grief? Curator: Rembrandt uses light to highlight the vulnerability in this scene. Consider the figures cloaked in shadow versus the illuminated body. Who holds the power? Is it the deceased, mourned by all? Or is it the structures that necessitated this death, structures that continue to oppress marginalized bodies even now? Editor: That's a very interesting take. I hadn't considered it that way. Curator: Think about the historical context of Rembrandt’s time and today. Who is mourned and who is forgotten? Where do we see similar scenes playing out? Editor: It makes me consider whose stories are centered, and whose are systematically erased. Curator: Exactly. Art can reveal those erasures.