Salva me 

Curator: Looking at this medieval drawing entitled "Salva me," created with ink on paper, I’m struck by its immediate intimacy despite its age. It feels so personal. Editor: Indeed. The calligraphic script and Romanesque letterforms speak to a specific visual culture, a world steeped in religious ritual and monastic study. I wonder about the implications of its textual plea for salvation. Curator: Yes, and observe how the prominent initial letters, colored a warm red, command attention. The large “S” in particular is almost figurative. What do you make of its placement at the very start of this prayer? Editor: The "S" could represent the self, the individual voice crying out. I see it also as a potential reflection of the socio-political contexts of that time, marked by societal hierarchies that perhaps made expressions of individuality complicated and rare. Curator: Perhaps, or maybe that "S" anchors us within a long tradition of illuminated manuscripts—echoing centuries of faith expressed through image and text. It’s about the cultural memory embedded within those artistic choices. Editor: But it's also about the agency of the writer—their choice of words, their way of shaping a prayer. There’s a raw vulnerability on display. Look at the lines: “my throat is hoarse… my eyes have failed, while I hoped in my God." We hear the despair. Curator: It feels universal doesn’t it? Anyone, regardless of time, can relate to the feeling of needing saving. What a thought; that this little drawing becomes an enduring visual testament to that desire. Editor: Ultimately, for me, the power in this piece emerges not just from faith, but its intimate human dimension—captured in faded ink on aged paper and rendered enduringly resonant to viewers so many centuries removed. Curator: Well said. To me, this piece bridges the personal and the universal, weaving a story of longing, a timeless quality captured for a breath through its iconography and presentation of this devotional subject.