Portret van de heilige Maximiliaan van Celeia gedragen door engelen 1766

This print of Saint Maximilian of Celeia, held by angels, was made by Marcus Weinmann in Vienna in 1766. The image presents us with a set of visual and textual clues about the institutional role of the church in eighteenth-century Europe. Note, for example, how the figure of the saint looms over a representation of a European city. This image implies the saint's protection of urban society. Moreover, the Latin inscription tells us that this print originated in the Catechetical Library of the Society of Jesus in Vienna. Thus, it is an artifact of the Catholic Church's educational work. The German text and the prayer indicate that this print was used in local religious instruction, especially in the context of the Counter-Reformation. To understand such an image more fully, historians consult archives of religious orders and libraries to research the context of its production and use. In this way, the meaning of the artwork emerges from its institutional setting.