Deianira Herculi c. 16th century

Editor: This woodcut, "Deianira Herculi," by an unknown artist, has such a strange, almost theatrical composition. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Well, I see a fascinating example of the democratization of image production. Woodcuts like this would have been relatively inexpensive to produce. Consider the labor involved: from carving the block to printing the image, how does that affect the narrative being presented? Editor: That's an interesting point! It's not just about the story, but about the means of telling it. Curator: Precisely. And the social context in which these images circulated is equally important. Who was consuming these images and how did their material conditions shape their understanding of the myth? Editor: I never really thought about it like that, considering the physical process. Thanks!