Christ Standing between Two Angels who Support the Instruments of the Passion c. 16th century

Curator: This engraving, "Christ Standing between Two Angels who Support the Instruments of the Passion," is by Hieronymus Wierix. Wierix, born in 1553, situates this piece within a complex period of religious and political upheaval. Editor: There's a strange calmness, wouldn't you say? Despite the instruments of torture being held by the angels, the scene doesn't evoke the expected horror. Curator: Wierix was working within very specific Counter-Reformation guidelines. Images were meant to instruct, to inspire piety, but also to control interpretation. Editor: Right, and that control is palpable. The idealized Christ, almost nonchalant, really sanitizes the suffering, doesn't it? Makes me wonder about the politics of representing pain. Curator: These images played a key role in shaping religious identity and solidifying the Church's authority during a period of intense conflict. Editor: The work reflects the intersection of faith, power, and artistic expression, inviting us to reconsider whose stories get told and how.