Den hellige Stefanus bliver begravet 1572

Maarten van Heemskerck rendered this drawing of The Burial of Saint Stephen in pen and brown ink. Note how the saint's body is reverently carried, a motif echoing the deposition of Christ. The shroud, a simple cloth, connects us to countless other images across cultures where cloth signifies mourning, transition, and the sacred act of preparing the dead. Think of the Veil of Veronica, imprinted with Christ's face, or the burial cloths of ancient Egypt. This humble cloth, imbued with the weight of grief and reverence, resurfaces in different contexts, carrying a collective memory of loss and respect for the departed. The act of burial itself, a universal ritual, taps into our deepest fears and hopes about mortality. Here, the image engages us on a subconscious level, reminding us of the shared human experience of death and remembrance. The motif of the burial cloth persists through time, each appearance layering new cultural and emotional meanings onto the last.