Saint Benedict Receiving a Warrior (recto); Sketch of Crowded Narrative Scene (verso) 1600 - 1700

Editor: This drawing, "Saint Benedict Receiving a Warrior," dates to between 1600 and 1700, and is attributed to an anonymous artist. It’s pen and ink on paper, and it’s currently held at The Met. I am struck by the level of detail despite the use of seemingly simple materials. What jumps out at you? Curator: Look closely at the process, the rapid, confident strokes. Ink wasn't cheap. Paper, similarly, represented a considerable investment of resources and labor during that period. What does it mean to commit such valuable resources to, seemingly, a preliminary sketch? Is this merely a draft or something more considered? Editor: I never thought about the cost of materials. Is it possible then that this work was itself the final product, or at least a valued object? Curator: Exactly. The materiality challenges our assumptions about the hierarchy of artistic production. How was drawing perceived then? Was it considered 'lesser' than painting or sculpture? This piece questions such classifications. And consider, too, the subject matter. The church as patron clearly held sway, so the material conditions reveal their investment. Who was dictating subject matter, and what would it cost the artist not to agree? Editor: That makes so much sense. Seeing it through the lens of material cost shifts my understanding. I always think about intention of the artist, not what materials they were employing or how labor was impacting their practice. Curator: The social and economic contexts of the work’s creation become as crucial as the artistic intent, don’t you agree? Examining the "how" and "why" of production offers us an enriched interpretation of its meaning. Editor: Absolutely, I am going to think of materiality more as an important context in my approach to artworks moving forward.