Aanbidding door de koningen 1640 - 1660

Nicolas Perelle created this print, "Adoration by the Kings," sometime in the 17th century. It’s an etching, which means the image was incised into a metal plate, inked, and then pressed onto paper. Consider how the religious scene, a depiction of the three kings presenting gifts to the infant Jesus, unfolds within a landscape of classical ruins. What does it mean to set a story of religious renewal amidst the remnants of a past empire? The crumbling architecture, overgrown with vegetation, evokes a sense of time’s passage and the transience of worldly power. In doing so, Perelle suggests a new order emerging from the old. It makes you think about the relationship between faith and power, and how religious narratives often become intertwined with political and social structures. Think about what stories we choose to tell, and how we frame them against the backdrop of history.