In the 16th and 17th centuries, a new view of nature emerged in the Netherlands. Artists like Joris Hoefnagel (1542–1600) and Jan van Kessel the Elder (1626–1679) approached the natural world with an intimacy and immediacy that was unprecedented in European art. Seeking new lines of care and connection in a world torn apart by war, they found kindred spirits glimmering in the souls of even the littlest of beasts. They carried the light of empathy to beings that had been overlooked in the shadows. Painting at the very limits of attention, they made it possible to see that we are all made of the same elements and energies, intertwined in a cosmic process of creation and destruction, life and death, shadow, color, and light.

The conservators and scientists at the National Gallery of Art have the solemn task of caring for these images within the institution’s collections, these transient patches of gathered light and matter. They serve as stewards to a history of tenderness—keepers of a covenant of memory between art and the majesty of life.

During my residency, I completed a film that explores this lineage of care and conservation, tracing the connections between artists and conservators across time. Titled Until We Are Forged: Hymns for the Elements, the film was commissioned by the National Gallery of Art and accompanies the exhibition Little Beasts: Art, Wonder, and the Natural World. Notably, the show also marks the first collaboration between the National Gallery and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, pairing nearly 500-year-old paintings and prints of animals with real specimens.

The film that joins this conversation between institutions, images, and specimens is a 43-minute, single-channel, color, ultra-high-definition video featuring a dynamic 5.1 surround sound soundtrack. In collaboration with curators and conservators at the National Gallery of Art, as well as scientists at the National Museum of Natural History, the video incorporates site-specific filming, historical footage, original animations, and special effects that bring the images to life. Similarly, the soundtrack serves as a crucial element of the installation, animating the immersive sonic landscapes suggested by Hoefnagel’s and Van Kessel’s richly detailed paintings. 

For Hoefnagel and Van Kessel, observing the natural world was not simply an act of cold classification. It was, instead, an act of intimacy, a tender science, and an acknowledgment of the inner life of the object of study. To look into another creature’s eyes—from owls to “lowly” insects—was to grant them a soul, each with an inner intelligence and subjectivity worthy of grace and awe. The video examines how their approach to natural history contributed to the development of modern concepts of ecosystems, interconnectivity, and environmental stewardship. 

More pointedly, the video is an argument for how Hoefnagel’s techniques of natural history (evocatively referred to as “high-def naturalism”) advanced the philosophical framework of what we would today refer to as empathy and its attendant ethical questions. Each brushstroke and meticulous detail suggest a new intimate connection with the “other.” If one marker for a species’ intelligence is its recognition of the intelligence of all other species—that its very survival depends on this act of empathy and humility—then Hoefnagel’s work can be understood as a charter for humanity: a plan, a promise, a covenant, even, for living and being in the broader cosmos.

The video also highlights the roles of conservators and imaging scientists at the National Gallery in preserving the works of Hoefnagel and Van Kessel. The lineage of care through close observation that Hoefnagel and Van Kessel embodied continues in modern conservation practices. Similar to Hoefnagel’s and Van Kessel’s observations of the smallest creatures, these modern scientific images transcend mere cold classification. The conservators and imaging specialists engage in their own acts of tender science, uncovering new ways to explore how empathy has evolved over the centuries. Through the conservators’ generosity, the scientific images produced during the analysis of the watercolors and paintings shape the visual aesthetic of the video, connecting these acts of empathy across time.

Houston, TX
Visiting Guest Artist, March–April 2024

Dario Robleto will return to the completion of his book, The Heartbeat at the Edge of the Solar System: Science, Emotion, and the Golden Record. Coauthored with art historian Jennifer Roberts, the book is scheduled for publication in 2026. In the spring of 2025, Robleto will receive an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Middlebury College.