Reliëf, (vermoedelijk) voorstellende een paus en bisschoppen before 1905

This relief, possibly showing a pope and bishops, was made by Alphonse-Louis Poitevin at an unknown date. The monochromatic palette creates a sense of timelessness, like a memory half-faded, which chimes with the presumed subject matter. The light etches out the forms, revealing the texture of the robes, the sharp angles of the mitres, and the soft curves of the faces. Look closely, and you can see a network of tiny lines that animate the surface, like a whispered conversation between the artist and the material. The robes bunch and fall in complex folds, pooling around the feet of the figures. The folds are rendered as a set of sharp creases, which give the figures a sense of solidity and weight, but there is also a fragile quality to the work. Poitevin's approach reminds me of 15th century Italian sculpture, which is interesting as art is an ongoing conversation and exchange of ideas across time.