Illustration XXV c. 1489

Editor: This is *Illustration XXV*, made by an anonymous artist. It appears to be an early print, perhaps a woodcut, showing the deposition of Christ. What strikes me is the strong contrast between the dark lines and the blank space. What do you see in this piece? Curator: The materiality of this printed image is key. Think about the labor involved in carving the woodblock, the physical act of pressing the ink onto the page, and the way these cheap, repeatable images served a devotional function, accessible to a wider audience. The focus shifts from unique artistic genius to a standardized, reproducible commodity. Editor: So, it’s less about the artistic skill and more about the process of making the image accessible? Curator: Precisely. It's about democratizing religious imagery, challenging the traditional art world by engaging with the material conditions of production and consumption. Editor: That's a completely different perspective than I had considered. Thank you for sharing.