Heilige Martinus deelt zijn mantel met een bedelaar 1704 - 1765

Jan Lauwryn Krafft’s engraving depicts Saint Martin dividing his cloak with a beggar. The image, made in the early modern period, visualizes Christian charity. What is the public role of this image? To answer that question, it helps to understand the context of its making. In Northern Europe at this time, religious art often played a role in Catholic-Protestant debates. This image, with its emphasis on generosity, may have served a homiletic function, reminding viewers of the importance of good works in Christian life. But it is also possible that the print had another role, perhaps that of commemorating or celebrating the patronage of a wealthy individual. We can see this in the inscription, which seems to dedicate the image to a nobleman. Images like these are ripe for social and cultural histories. To understand them better, we can explore resources that tell us about the period, the artist, and the people who commissioned it.