Apelles the Hermit c. 17th century

Curator: This is Francesco Valesio's "Apelles the Hermit," a print depicting, well, just that! What a cozy, contemplative scene! What strikes you? Editor: It feels so detailed for a print, almost like a drawing, and evokes this sense of quiet solitude. What do you see in this piece, beyond the obvious? Curator: It's the tension, isn't it? Apelles, diligently studying, juxtaposed against this wild, overgrown landscape. Makes you wonder what he's searching for, doesn't it? Perhaps wisdom in nature, or escape from the world. Editor: That makes a lot of sense. I didn’t think about the tension between the man and the landscape. Curator: It's a journey of the soul, etched in ink. Hopefully, we all can discover something new looking at it. Editor: Definitely, I think that I get the tension now. Thanks!