Bewening van dode Christus door Maria 1515 - 1602

This engraving showing the Lamentation of Christ was made by an anonymous artist, likely in the Netherlands, around 1602. The image depicts the Virgin Mary mourning over the body of Jesus. Her halo identifies her sacred status, but the image also represents the suffering of any mother who has lost a child. The engraving was part of a printmaking boom in the Netherlands, as the technology made images more widely available. We need to ask what the social function of such an image may have been. Did it serve to reinforce established religious views? Or did it offer a means of contemplating personal grief and loss? Or both? As art historians, we look to many sources—religious writings, social histories, and the records of printmaking workshops—to understand the complex meanings that such an image may have held for its original audience. Art always operates within specific social and institutional contexts, and it’s up to us to understand those forces.