Fotoreproductie van een prent door Richomme van de Madonna del Velo door Rafaël before 1869

This is a reproduction by Joseph Cundall of a print by Richomme, after Raphael’s Madonna del Velo. At its heart, the image presents us with the Madonna and Child, enveloped by the veil, a symbol deeply entrenched in Christian art. The veil itself speaks volumes. It conceals and reveals, a duality that echoes through centuries of art. Consider how, in antiquity, veils signified status and sanctity, yet here it seems to soften the divine, bringing it closer. This motif finds echoes in countless works, where cloth mediates between the sacred and the human. In the Renaissance, the veil became a crucial symbol of maternal care, connecting the earthly and the divine. Its persistence in art speaks to our collective memory. The gentle gesture of Mary holding the veil, and the infant Christ playfully reaching for it, evokes a powerful, emotional response rooted in our shared human experience. These gestures resonate with the subconscious desire for protection and connection, engaging us on a deep, primal level.