Kranke rufen einen heiligen Bischof an 

Editor: This drawing, held at the Städel Museum, is titled "Kranke rufen einen heiligen Bischof an", which translates to "Sick People Calling Upon a Holy Bishop," by Giacinto Brandi. It's ink on paper, and the whirlwind of lines really creates a sense of drama. What strikes you when you look at this piece? Curator: Indeed, the Baroque aesthetic privileges dynamism and emotional intensity, which Brandi achieves primarily through line. Note how the frantic, swirling lines delineate form and evoke movement, yet simultaneously threaten to dissolve those very forms into a unified, chaotic surface. Consider, for example, the contrast between the relatively stable diagonal of the bishop's crozier and the frenzied, almost scribbled rendering of the clouds. Editor: So, it's less about depicting a realistic scene and more about capturing a feeling, or an experience, through the energy of the lines? Curator: Precisely. The figuration itself is almost secondary to the sheer energetic force communicated through the drawing’s compositional structure. Ask yourself how the arrangement of the figures—the way they cluster and reach—contributes to this sense of dramatic appeal. And how does Brandi leverage line variation and density to distinguish planes and guide the eye? Editor: It does feel like all the figures are reaching towards the bishop, their lines more frenetic the closer they are to him, and calmer around the edges. It is almost like the image itself is calling us, the viewers. Curator: Precisely. The drawing’s strength lies in the formal relationship between these visual components. The overall effect emphasizes not just a depiction, but the visceral impact of belief and the plea for divine intervention through artistic structure alone. Editor: I didn’t even realize how the artist uses such simple strokes to portray profound suffering. It is the structural composition that intensifies that emotional reaction to the work. Curator: Precisely, Editor. We learned how Brandi wields lines to sculpt not just images but palpable sensations, turning the act of viewing into a deeply affecting encounter.