December: varkens slachten (steenbok) 1575 - 1613

Curator: This etching, entitled "December: varkens slachten (steenbok)," which translates to "December: Slaughtering Pigs (Capricorn)," was created between 1575 and 1613 by Antonio Tempesta. Editor: Yikes! Sooty and grim... very December in my bones, but there’s a peculiar calm about it, wouldn't you say? Curator: Well, the genre scene of slaughtering pigs aligns with agricultural calendars typical of that era, and that's set against this wider sociopolitical framework. Note the detail placed on the zodiac symbol; these prints often reflect larger cosmological beliefs tied to the ruling classes. Editor: Cosmo-beliefs? Right! I'm fixated on how stark the trees are – their spindly branches are practically clawing at that moody sky. And the smoke—ominous yet also... domestic, if you get me? It grounds the entire thing. Curator: Absolutely. The juxtaposition highlights class divisions as well as broader moral themes that were part of the ongoing Reformation. Landscapes themselves became associated with identity, with notions of "Italianness," even. Editor: And Tempesta’s play with light is, as ever, captivating, but the foreground feels like another world entirely. This detailed rendering of labor next to an idyllic hilltop town just emphasizes the difference in lifestyle between those of a high and lower social class. There’s even an odd stillness to the workers – almost ritualistic. Curator: It could also speak to increasing social and religious upheaval happening within the city depicted beyond that river. Consider too that the art market was booming, with the rise of printmaking further democratizing it. Editor: That’s such a curious concept. How something so… earthbound as butchering hogs can be elevated to this delicate dance of ink and paper! What started as possibly food preparation turns into something that makes you think! Curator: Right? We can see those shifting hierarchies so vividly! Thanks for your impressions. Editor: My pleasure. Glad I could, shall we say, 'chew the fat' about this piece.