Remissio Peccatorum, from "The Allegories on the Christian Creed" 1598

Curator: Here we have Hendrick Goltzius's engraving from 1598, a print titled "Remissio Peccatorum, from \"The Allegories on the Christian Creed,\"" currently housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. What is your immediate take? Editor: Bleak, definitely bleak! It's got this very stiff, formal quality. But then, nestled within that severity, there's a lot of emotional drama brewing. It feels claustrophobic, almost stage-like in its composition. Curator: The artist adopts a Mannerist style. If we consider the layout, it seems to be almost compartmentalized with the textual elements intertwining with the figural narratives—essentially structuring a symbolic narrative around themes of sin, penance, and redemption. Editor: Yeah, it’s visually broken up, for sure. You've got these Latin inscriptions that look almost like elaborate picture frames surrounding vignettes depicting different biblical scenes... Is the artist trying to show lots of related ideas all in the same go? Curator: Precisely. These textual frames actively participate in constructing a rich intertextual relationship to the images. Each scene within seems to act as a piece of larger theological statement about grace and forgiveness. Editor: The main scene has a Christ-like figure and someone drawing in the dirt – some sort of allegory? Plus there's what looks like the crucifixion. A lot to process in such a small space. Curator: Given the title, "Remissio Peccatorum," which translates to "Remission of Sins," and Goltzius's Protestant faith, the act of drawing likely refers to Christ forgiving transgressions. Each textual frame serves to amplify those layers of meaning within. Editor: Knowing about the religious angle gives it so much more weight, a darker feeling, but a hopeful one too? Goltzius isn't just showing off technical skill, but delivering an entire sermon in ink! I might go look at this engraving differently if I met it in person now. Curator: I’d say your instincts are well-calibrated to the work. And isn't that the wonder of Goltzius? The image, so dense with semiotic and theological allusions, manages nonetheless to exude a poignant sense of human drama.