Sculptuur van albast en een sculptuur van marmer van Maria met kind, opgesteld op een tentoonstelling over religieuze objecten uit de middeleeuwen en renaissance in 1864 in Mechelen before 1866

Joseph Maes captured this image of two sculptures of the Virgin Mary and Child in 1864, during an exhibition in Mechelen dedicated to religious objects from the Middle Ages and Renaissance. The sculptures, rendered in marble and alabaster, reflect the period's complex relationship with gender, divinity, and power. Mary, often seen as the epitome of motherhood, is here presented through the lens of both religious devotion and idealized womanhood, a figure of purity and strength. Exhibited during the 19th century, a time of rapid social and political change, these sculptures offered a connection to a past understood as more stable. Yet, they also participated in the ongoing construction of female identity within the context of religious and cultural norms. Maes's photograph invites us to reflect on how the representation of women in religious art both shapes and mirrors societal expectations. The emotional resonance of these images lies in their ability to evoke reverence, while also prompting questions about the roles assigned to women throughout history.