Infant Christ Sleeping c. 19th century

Editor: This print, titled "Infant Christ Sleeping" by Angelo Emilio Lapi, depicts the baby Jesus asleep amidst flowers and a skull. The contrast is quite striking. How do you interpret this work, considering Lapi's choice of materials and engraving process? Curator: Look closely at the labor involved. The engraver, meticulously translating an idea, confronts mortality directly with the skull juxtaposed against the infant. It challenges our notion of holy icon versus manufactured object, doesn’t it? Editor: Yes, it does! I never thought about the labor behind the print itself. It gives a new perspective. Curator: It highlights the social context of production, reminding us that even religious imagery is subject to material processes and consumption. It's about art as work. Editor: That’s fascinating. Seeing it as a product of labor rather than just a devotional image really changes my understanding.