The Annunciation 1540s

Editor: This is "The Annunciation," an engraving made in the 1540s by Maarten van Heemskerck. I am struck by how domestic it feels, almost intimate, despite the grandeur of the subject. There’s even a cat! How do we interpret the presentation of a biblical scene in this more commonplace setting? Curator: Precisely. Heemskerck’s "Annunciation" demonstrates a shift in the public’s relationship to religious imagery during the Reformation. Rather than solely existing within the confines of the church, biblical narratives enter the home through prints like these. Consider how access to imagery reshaped personal devotion. How does the intimacy affect its devotional use, or its socio-political impact? Editor: So, instead of seeing this scene only in a grand altarpiece, people could own and contemplate it in their own space, maybe leading to more personal interpretations. Is that the domesticity’s power at play? Curator: Exactly! Prints democratized images, providing access and agency to people and ideas. But note that this accessibility also made these images subject to diverse readings and even, potentially, challenge established doctrine, in private or even potentially as the foundation of new gatherings in a domestic space. The presence of seemingly random domestic elements can offer some clues to interpret what would have made sense or been of interest to audiences at the time. How could the imagery possibly play a subversive role in the hands of commoners? Editor: I hadn’t thought about it that way – more than just devotional, it’s potentially quite radical in its accessibility. Thanks, this piece has so much more depth for me now. Curator: Indeed. Remember to look beyond the surface of accessibility and ponder the political dimension of how, when and where images appear and the access granted.