Sermon on the Mount 

Curator: This image, titled "Sermon on the Mount," presents Gustave Dore’s intricate interpretation of a pivotal biblical scene, masterfully rendered using drawing techniques with ink and charcoal. Editor: Oh, my god, it’s got this sort of eerie tranquility, doesn't it? Like a hush has fallen, and even the trees are leaning in to listen. It's dense, almost claustrophobic with people, but your eye keeps getting pulled back to the glowing center where Christ sits. It’s like everyone is rendered voiceless because what’s coming out of his mouth is more important than anything they could offer up. Curator: Dore was prolific as a printmaker and book illustrator, working during a period when technological advancements were transforming the means of reproducing and circulating images. His use of detailed line work lent itself perfectly to mass production through engraving. The images ended up reproduced in bibles across many middle-class Christian homes. Editor: Mass produced doesn't mean soulless! Think about it: How often do we see gatherings of people actually listening to each other now? It's gorgeous how the technique almost makes their garments blend together—an illustration, quite literally, of community. Did you ever draw when you were little and try to pack in as much detail as you possibly could? Like you're cramming the entire world onto one page. Dore totally gets it. Curator: And how these drawings and engravings served as instruments of cultural production to influence people. The means of production and circulation are crucial to understanding its place in history. Editor: Well, even acknowledging this piece being an act of cultural production—there's an undeniably spiritual and emotive quality about the expressions Dore captures. So full of reverence! All these stories are bound to be commodified but not necessarily corrupted by it, I don't think. I’m drawn in as I’m sure many were at the time of release. Curator: Fair enough. Understanding Dore's practice within the context of 19th-century print culture is key—he skillfully leveraged the tools of mass media for artistic and, perhaps, didactic purposes. Editor: Absolutely. Ultimately, I can’t help but be moved by the raw emotion pulsing through every single penstroke and line! It's powerful to think that he created something that can still affect me now.