The Rest on the Flight into Egypt, Joseph at right, the Virgin holds the Christ Child in the centre, other figures to the left 1531 - 1576

Curator: Look at this print, titled "The Rest on the Flight into Egypt," made by Giulio Bonasone sometime between 1531 and 1576. Editor: It feels like a peaceful interlude, but with a certain...intensity in the crosshatching, particularly defining Joseph’s robes. Almost palpable in texture despite the monochrome. Curator: Right, let's delve into the materials. It's an etching, with ink on what would have originally been white paper. Bonasone's mastery comes from controlling the acid's bite on the plate, creating that range of tonal values. This printmaking process democratizes art to a degree; multiple impressions allowed wider circulation. Who was consuming such imagery and why? Editor: The iconography, of course, stems from the Biblical narrative, but placed within this fully-realized landscape. One thinks about displacement, refuge... How universal those themes remain. Mary, Joseph, and Christ represent not just holiness but embody the precariousness faced by marginalized people then, and still today. Curator: And look at the laborers rendered within that idyllic scenery. It would have required labour to produce this print, but it also illustrates different forms of labour by the very people who likely consumed Bonasone's image: the wood gatherer on the left, shepherds with their flock behind the holy family… What were the networks for the sale of these prints like, and who profited most? Editor: The composition suggests that even in escape, hierarchies and social dynamics are at play. Angels attend while other children and their parents gather fruit to nourish them. There's privilege inherent even in forced migration. This awareness pushes against conventional depictions of divinity. Curator: Precisely, it exposes those power relations within the Holy Family's experience. So, in essence, by understanding both the process of production, as well as the complex contextual narrative embedded within the work itself, we see this image, "The Rest on the Flight into Egypt", can be both a beautiful object and a critical mirror, reflecting back on us today. Editor: Ultimately, this close examination forces us to consider whose stories are told and how they're told.