Maria met Kind en maansikkel 1610 - 1612

This engraving of ‘Maria met Kind en maansikkel’ was made by Jacob Matham, a Dutch artist, around the turn of the 17th century. Matham created this piece during a time of religious and social upheaval, against the backdrop of the Eighty Years' War and the Counter-Reformation. While the war brought immense change, this image of the Virgin Mary and Child, a traditional emblem of purity and divine motherhood, would have brought a sense of continuity. Matham renders a figure who has a serene, almost wistful expression, cradling her child close to her. The moon beneath her feet may symbolize the Immaculate Conception, with Mary often seen as standing on the lunar crescent, embodying chastity. The print would have been made for private devotion and domestic display, offering solace and reaffirming traditional values during a time of great change. It also represents a highly gendered idea of the feminine; of motherhood as holy, and a mother's love as both pure and essential.