Visitation (copy in reverse) 1706 - 1780

Curator: Alright, let's delve into this intriguing print, "Visitation (copy in reverse)." Joseph Wagner created this engraving sometime between 1706 and 1780. It's currently housed at the Met. What are your initial thoughts? Editor: Well, there's something quite affecting about the almost austere rendering. The linework is so delicate, yet the emotional exchange between the two women feels really monumental. It almost looks like they're sharing a sacred secret. Curator: Absolutely. "The Visitation" depicts the meeting of Mary and Elizabeth, both pregnant, Mary with Jesus and Elizabeth with John the Baptist. You feel this sense of momentous destiny hanging in the air? Editor: Yes! And Wagner really plays with the gazes and hand gestures. Notice how Elizabeth leans in, a gesture full of motherly warmth, yet her eyes hint at a deeper, knowing recognition of Mary's divine pregnancy. It reminds me of ancient votive gestures. Like offerings of something sacred and the way that the hand touching symbolizes an invocation. Curator: I agree. It's fascinating this is labelled a copy. It raises questions about how interpretations travel and transform across time and mediums. Being in reverse is an odd detail too. What could the implications of copying something to a mirrored effect entail? Editor: Perhaps it subtly highlights the dual nature of their pregnancies, a mirror reflecting two intertwined destinies? And, of course, copies are so loaded with meanings in their own right—questioning authenticity and originality. Curator: Indeed, the symbolic resonance of mirroring and the echo of "originality" complicate what we expect from a devotional artwork from that period. Do you notice how little details change your sense of the image each time you look at it. The slight difference between what they're wearing for instance. Editor: Exactly. There is a strange sort of harmony between the subjects that speaks to a time beyond what's rendered. Curator: Ultimately, Wagner's engraving provides more than a glimpse into the biblical encounter, it seems to offer a rumination on artistic reproduction, gendered knowledge, and the powerful visual language of faith. Editor: Yes. Looking closer has only strengthened my first impression, one that feels connected to emotional revelation, hidden truths, and an unfolding shared destiny, but across much more time than originally seemed possible.