Saint Matthew c. 16th century

Curator: Here we have Julius Goltzius's engraving, Saint Matthew. It is currently held in the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: I’m immediately drawn to the dense detail, all those books and drapery folds! It feels like Goltzius really relished the materiality of the scene. Curator: Absolutely. The engraving reproduces the common visual trope in which Matthew is depicted with his symbolic angel companion, guiding him in his writing. It’s a fascinating example of the intersection of the divine and the scholarly in art. Editor: And the tools of that scholarship are front and center: the inkwell, the stylus, and of course, the books themselves. It all points to the physical labor involved in producing knowledge. Curator: The engraving technique itself, with its precise lines, also underscores the labor, but here in service of reproducing and disseminating religious and cultural ideas. Editor: The interplay between divine inspiration and earthly creation is certainly palpable. Considering the materiality of the book alongside its cultural weight provides for a rich understanding of the artwork. Curator: Indeed, it allows us to appreciate the work’s social and cultural context. Editor: Exactly.