The Holy Family with the infant Saint John the Baptist, and other saints and angels 1775

Curator: Immediately, the looseness of the line work strikes me; there's almost a frenetic energy in what appears to be a religious scene. Editor: Let’s delve into this drawing. It's titled "The Holy Family with the infant Saint John the Baptist, and other saints and angels" by Giuseppe Canale, created around 1775. Currently, it resides here at The Met. It's crafted with pen and brown ink, creating a compelling figuration. Curator: It is quite baroque with that emphasis on light and shadow through hatching and cross-hatching... it also seems hastily rendered and even unfinished to my eyes. What can you tell me about the print making practice? Editor: In terms of context, this type of print served multiple purposes. Consider how the means of reproduction—the pen and ink translated into a print—enabled wider dissemination of religious imagery, potentially impacting the faithful’s understanding of devotion, salvation and religious instruction beyond traditional avenues controlled by the Church. This democratization, however, came with its own set of social power dynamics at play depending on consumption habits and income brackets within period society! Curator: That connection between production, access and the church is exactly why Canale chose ink, and then print making to distribute. But to me it doesn’t fully express emotion of the family; even though baroque, there is lack of texture. Perhaps, a trade of access over expressiveness. Editor: Well, I find its linear style contributes a raw, emotional honesty. You sense their struggle and faith because of, not despite, the line work! I see figures bound by their circumstances as well their devoutness... Curator: In my experience, there needs to be an even exchange in materiality versus conceptual accessibility in baroque prints…Here though it teeters… Editor: Perhaps we disagree, but it does reveal layers of historical context and meaning. The conversation alone is compelling. Curator: Absolutely—I now can sense a certain social narrative that I did not realize initially.