Design for a Choir Screen with Donor Statues flanking a Crucifix 17th century

Curator: The watercolor, ink, and graphite drawing before us, currently held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is a design for a choir screen featuring donor statues flanking a crucifix. This piece dates back to the 17th century and comes to us from an anonymous hand. Editor: Initially, what strikes me is the air of restrained sorrow that hangs over the composition. It is as if the delicate medium speaks of a deep mourning. The pallid colors seem intentionally muted. Curator: Indeed, and considering the 17th century context, the era of the Counter-Reformation, we observe not only devotion but a keen focus on penance, a dialogue regarding divine authority amid sociopolitical anxieties and burgeoning science. We should remember that public acts of contrition, and therefore the spaces built to contain them, became powerful sites of religious and social meaning-making. Editor: The crucifix, of course, acts as the visual linchpin. Its prominence can hardly be ignored and the skull at its base acts as a memento mori. It visually emphasizes the sacrifice, which is the essence of Christian redemption, further echoing that theme of contrition you highlighted. Curator: Note the symmetry in the piece—the figures in supplication mirroring one another. Who were these people, kneeling in perpetuity? What positionality do these statues have regarding power, gender, and class? Do you believe the decision to pair each figure with a personal coat-of-arms reinforces a commitment to lineage or earthly status? Editor: It may suggest a certain vanity mixed with faith, but equally it speaks of historical narrative, perhaps underscoring not just their spiritual contribution but their physical role as builders of faith and civic presence in a time of turmoil. And the figures in such proximity to Christ emphasize, not undermine, a community, its history, and its faith. Curator: An intersection, if you will, of material existence and divine decree that reminds us about the power dynamics inherent in such displays of piety. Thanks for that evocative look at this choir screen design. Editor: And thank you. This quiet moment amongst symbols allowed a vivid glimpse into a world where devotion took very precise visual forms.