Portrait of Giovanni Ricasoli, aged 5 1808

Curator: Today we're looking at "Portrait of Giovanni Ricasoli, aged 5", an etching done in 1808 by Luigi Sabatelli, currently held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Editor: There’s a striking melancholy to this piece, isn’t there? The stark lines and the young boy's intense profile, all rendered in such stark monochrome, create a mood that is pensive if not altogether sad. Curator: Yes, it's fascinating to consider it in the context of early 19th century portraiture. These were often commissioned by wealthy families, functioning as status symbols and also conveying ideas about family lineage. It prompts me to think about who this Ricasoli family was and why they wanted Giovanni immortalized at such a tender age. Editor: From a purely compositional standpoint, the artist’s mark-making seems really innovative. Notice how the dense, almost scribbled, lines create depth around his head and neck. It almost vibrates with an internal energy and suggests a barely-restrained exuberance held in tension with the more formally rendered features. Curator: Absolutely, and one can argue Sabatelli may have used that line work to reflect a growing trend towards Romanticism, moving away from the rigidity of earlier Neoclassical styles, you see similar approaches to depictions of hair for example elsewhere at the time, although in painted media more often than etching. Editor: That's a good point about the hair. Look how those unruly curls contrast with the neat, almost aristocratic cut of his jacket. Is this is a controlled depiction of a subject or does the medium choice push its boundaries? The very controlled etched line is being challenged by a seemingly freer hand. Curator: It highlights a tension present in the subject himself, between youth and social expectation, and it’s telling he opted for printmaking – a more democratic art form, potentially signalling a desire to circulate this image widely, beyond the confines of the family. It brings into question the role this portrait plays within the shifting social and artistic landscapes of the early 19th century. Editor: I’m also captivated by how the simplicity of line is all it needs to express this portrait; how effective. You understand his age, demeanor, perhaps even a little of the society from which he is coming just by line and rendering. Curator: A lovely synthesis of technique, cultural context and form making this etching an especially insightful work of art. Editor: Agreed. It gives a real immediacy which connects us still.