Album met voorstellingen uit het leven van Christus 1600 - 1652

This is an album depicting scenes from the life of Christ, made by François Stuerhelt, a painter active in the Dutch Republic in the mid-17th century. The Dutch Republic, a Protestant nation, was unique in Europe at this time for its relative religious toleration and its republican government. While the Catholic Church had previously been the primary patron of the arts, in this new society, art was increasingly commissioned and purchased by private citizens. How did this new economic and social reality affect the kinds of art that were made? In the absence of a single, powerful religious authority, artists produced images for a variety of audiences, each with different needs and expectations. To better understand this album, we can research the changing art market in the Netherlands, and compare images made by Catholic and Protestant artists. Only then can we appreciate how art both reflects and shapes the values of a society.