Heilige Andreas c. 1637 - 1693

Hendrick de Graauw created this print of Saint Andrew sometime in the 17th century. This image depicts Saint Andrew with an X-shaped cross, referencing the way he was martyred. Prints like this one were widely available in the Netherlands at the time, and were collected by people from all walks of life. They were relatively inexpensive, and were kept in albums or framed and hung on walls. Images of Christian saints like this one were especially popular, and would have been recognizable to both Catholic and Protestant audiences. The institutions of the church and the state used images of saints to send messages to the public. In this case, the image of Saint Andrew as a martyr could have been used to encourage people to be loyal to the church. As art historians, we must consider the social and political forces that shaped the production and reception of art, using a range of historical resources to understand its meaning.