Kristi opstandelse 1623 - 1678

Jürgen Ovens made this pen and brown ink drawing of the Resurrection some time in the 17th century. It presents a key episode in the Gospels that has always been fertile ground for artistic interpretation. We might consider this work in relation to the religious institutions that drove artistic production at that time, and the cultural values that inflected this production. Ovens was working in a period of intense religious conflict, where Protestant and Catholic interpretations of Christianity were pitted against each other. The resurrection of Christ was a key point of difference and the object of fierce debate. Consider too the market for religious images at the time, whether for private devotion, or public display. These were bound up with institutional histories. To understand this drawing better, we might research the biography of the artist. What was his relationship to the church? What was his personal attitude towards the controversies of the Reformation? It's through this social and cultural context that the image comes to life.