Saint Luke 1518

Curator: Let’s take a look at Lucas van Leyden's engraving of Saint Luke from 1518. The fine detail achieved through engraving is really quite remarkable. Editor: Remarkable and somehow melancholic, isn't it? He looks so contemplative, hunched over his work, as if the weight of scripture—or maybe just the daily grind—is bearing down on him. Curator: Well, Saint Luke is traditionally depicted as a painter as well as an evangelist. We see him here in the midst of creation, possibly depicting the Virgin Mary, guided by his symbol, the ox. This engraving participates in a long history of artistic self-fashioning by painters. Editor: The ox just hanging out in the background adds this absurd, surreal touch. He is kind of cramped up there with barely enough space to contain his horns. Is he an active muse or just watching? Curator: It’s interesting you call him cramped. Lucas van Leyden’s print participates in a cultural milieu deeply immersed in the circulation of imagery and associated concepts about art, so that placement must have been quite intentional. Prints had a uniquely democratizing role in the art world during the Northern Renaissance, circulating imagery broadly and solidifying ideas about art and the artist. Editor: It makes me think about the labor of creating such tiny, detailed lines. It almost looks obsessive, which sort of humanizes the Saint. One mark at a time, building a world with the tip of a tiny knife. What do you imagine someone who poured his life into minute work, felt? Curator: I think van Leyden consciously participated in this emergent construction of the artist as a creative genius through the depiction of St Luke. It's less about psychological reality as it is about solidifying an image of the artist's status within society. Editor: Fair point. Though, I will forever picture the ox whispering jokes in Saint Luke's ear. It is kind of comforting to imagine artistic greatness has little secrets. Curator: A testament to art history’s charm: you can leave with new ways of perceiving something both grand and personal. Editor: Always new perspectives and a whole new surreal story to be told about the artist.