Transfiguration c. 17th century

Curator: This is Jacques Callot's "Transfiguration," a remarkably detailed etching, only a few centimeters across, housed here at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: Wow, it's so tiny! But it still radiates a sense of grandness, almost like a miniature window into another realm. Curator: Callot, living from 1592 to 1635, would have been deeply immersed in Counter-Reformation ideas. The Transfiguration story became a powerful message about divine authority amid religious conflicts. Editor: And you can see the drama played out in the contrast: the grounded, kneeling figures versus the radiant, ascending one above. It's like, who are we, but who could we become? Curator: Exactly. Consider the social implications—who is allowed access to such divinity? What earthly power structures are being challenged or reinforced? Editor: It's incredible how much he conveys in such a small space. I'm walking away contemplating power, scale, and the potential held within the ordinary. Curator: Indeed, a testament to art's capacity to transcend both size and time, inviting us to question established norms.