De gevel van de Sint Gudula bekleed met rouwkleden (plaat I), 1622 1623

Cornelis Galle I made this print in 1622, depicting the facade of the Saint Gudula church draped in mourning cloths. It offers insight into the intricate relationship between art, ritual, and the public sphere in the 17th century. The image creates meaning through visual codes. Funerary drapery, heraldic symbols, and the architectural backdrop of the Saint Gudula church, now the Cathedral of Brussels, come together to create an imposing spectacle of grief. In the Habsburg Netherlands, the Catholic Church was a powerful social institution. This print commemorates a significant event within that framework, and reveals the ways in which public grief was carefully orchestrated through visual display. Was this display of mourning an authentic expression of grief or a calculated projection of power by the church and state? As historians, we can examine period documents and records to understand the precise circumstances of this event. By understanding art’s role as contingent on social and institutional context, we can appreciate its depth and complexity.