The Virgin Enthroned with Three Saints 1668

Curator: Look at this drawing! It's called "The Virgin Enthroned with Three Saints," made in 1668 by Giuseppe Maria Mitelli. It resides now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. A Baroque engraving; can’t you just smell the ink? Editor: The composition is like a chaotic dream! Angels swarming, saints posing, all crammed into this tight space. My first thought is, is it supposed to be *this* busy? It's a little overwhelming. Curator: Mitelli's definitely throwing everything at the wall. Allegory, history painting, figuration – it’s like a religious mixtape. I see the Virgin Mary and Child front and center. And then… what do you make of the three saints surrounding them? Editor: One’s brandishing a crucifix with a dramatic flourish, very theatrical, while the other seems more subdued, almost shy. The third one? Is he offering the baby Jesus a golden goblet of some kind? It’s certainly odd and I can't name any of these saints in particular which to me almost makes them anonymous. Curator: Exactly! It lacks the gravitas you might expect, no? Mitelli often printed these kinds of religious images as devotional prints, cheap and accessible to a wider audience, almost like trading cards of holiness. Editor: That makes more sense. It demystifies the saints! Still, look at the cherubs fluttering about, plump and playful. They are too adorable, a bit mischievous, maybe! It’s hard to find solemnity when you're surrounded by winged toddlers. Curator: I see a hint of subversion, poking fun even while paying tribute. And don't miss the symbolic imagery in the background; this really seems an allegorical commentary of its age. Editor: Well, I initially saw it as cluttered. But you are right, thinking of it as popular devotional art softens my view, brings its visual intensity into a clearer historical perspective. Curator: Absolutely, context shifts our experience of an image. Knowing this was made for a wide viewership transforms the chaos into an invitation to contemplate, doesn’t it? Editor: It does. Suddenly that swarm of figures doesn't feel so oppressive but open. It becomes a bit less overwhelming now. A piece for its people. Thanks, art detective!