H. Andreas 1640 - 1701

Curator: Oh, I'm immediately drawn to the light in this piece! It gives the subject such a gentle aura. Editor: Let’s take a look at this work, “H. Andreas” by Pierre Landry, likely created sometime between 1640 and 1701. It appears to be a pencil drawing, almost an engraving, on aged paper. You're right; the artist really captures a mood of...resignation, maybe? Curator: Resignation is an interesting word for it! I was seeing a sense of serenity, like accepting a higher calling even if it comes with hardship. Editor: The light pencil work certainly contributes to that feeling. It makes me wonder about Landry’s process – what sort of pencils or graphite did he use, what was the social status of the paper and artist? I mean, just think of the labor and materials! Curator: You're pulling us in a completely different direction! I love it. For me, though, it's all about the expressiveness that he achieved. Notice how Andreas grips that cross, not with fear, but with a kind of quiet determination? Editor: Yes, and consider that cross—probably just timber—as the brutal engine of the Roman Empire; or the labor that went into making a page like this... it’s hard to disassociate. Curator: Perhaps! But isn't art about transformation? Even simple lines and shading can evoke such profound empathy! Editor: And to push back, the labor is never truly erased, even with profound artistic skill! To focus exclusively on the beauty runs the risk of erasing other critical layers of its making, no? I suspect we could debate this piece for days! Curator: (laughs) Days, perhaps weeks. But I suspect in doing so, we'd learn that we both find something incredibly moving about the piece, regardless of where we focus our attention! Editor: Precisely. It shows that even from disparate perspectives, art opens up conversation that illuminates both the object and our individual points of view, perhaps beyond their original use or intention.