Heilige Familie 1616 - 1657

This print of The Holy Family was made by Paulus Pontius in the 17th Century. The image depicts Mary, Joseph, and the infant Jesus. It's a common subject in European art and offers insight into the cultural values of the time. During the 17th century, the Catholic Church was an important patron of the arts. In the wake of the Protestant reformation, the Church saw art as a means to reaffirm Catholic doctrine. Prints like these are interesting as they provide a lens into the religious and social norms of the time in the Netherlands, and how the church was viewed as a key social institution that regulated the values around family and motherhood. We might ask, does the image present a self-consciously conservative image of family? How might it critique or uphold the institutions of art and religion? Historical research into the patronage of religious art, and the dissemination of prints, helps us understand the meaning of an image like this and its importance in its own time.