Touch 1561

Curator: This is Cornelis Cort's "Touch," a 16th-century engraving, currently residing at the Harvard Art Museums. The composition strikes me immediately. What do you think? Editor: I find it quite somber. The monochromatic palette lends a sense of gravity, and the sharp, etched lines create a powerful contrast. Curator: Indeed. The figure holds a bird, perhaps a hawk, while a tortoise creeps near her feet, and in the distance, a cityscape fades into the horizon. There's a spiderweb too. Editor: The bird is interesting. Birds often symbolize freedom, but here, perched on her hand, it becomes an extension of her sensory experience, of touch itself. Curator: Exactly. Note the Latin inscription: "Tactus sensorium per totum corpus expansum est," suggesting touch permeates the entire body. Even the spiderweb hints at feeling vibrations. Editor: Yes, and the tactile quality of the engraving itself is palpable. The varying densities of the lines create a rich texture. Cort invites us to feel through seeing. Curator: It's a powerful statement about the embodied nature of perception. Editor: I agree. Cort's use of line transforms the two-dimensional into something richly evocative.