Mourner 1453

Editor: Here we have Etienne Bobillet’s "Mourner," a wood sculpture dating back to 1453, residing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The drapery feels heavy, almost collapsing in on itself. What are your thoughts on this piece? Curator: Considering the material constraints, and the society’s needs at the time, I see the work not just as a religious icon but as a potent record of production and labor. We need to understand the medieval workshop; the economics of devotion; and how the cultural importance of wood influenced its selection as a medium for Bobillet. Editor: I see the devotion, definitely, but economics? How would that shape the work itself? Curator: Think of the trees. Who owned them? Who felled them? The carving itself would involve specific tools. And what about the location where this ‘Mourner’ would live, how it might be illuminated? The carving represents specific labor and distribution networks. Consider how the physical process of shaping the wood, layer by layer, mirrors the spiritual journey the figure embodies. Is it craft, or high art, or something in between? Editor: I hadn't considered it that way – focusing on the process unlocks a lot more than just devotional context. I'm seeing how materials are active agents. Curator: Precisely! The very substance speaks volumes about available resources, technical skills, and the artist's position in the economic landscape of 15th-century Europe. Now you are looking at the interplay between material, means and message. Editor: This new perspective sheds a lot more light, it reveals previously unnoticed sides. Thanks for making me consider materials from the get-go! Curator: Indeed, materiality is never neutral; it actively shapes our experience.