Veue des bons hommes 1655

Israel Silvestre made this print, "Veue des bons hommes," using etching sometime in the 17th century. It depicts the Saint-Victor Abbey with figures in the foreground, and it's titled after a verse printed beneath it. The verse describes a building founded out of heavenly zeal, a place of holiness. But what does it mean to call a building holy? In 17th-century France, the Catholic Church was not only a religious institution, but a political force. It had a great deal of influence on society. Saint-Victor was an important and ancient abbey. We might investigate its history, its abbots, and its role in the city, to get a sense of the complex religious and political situation in which Silvestre was working. The historian asks: how did religious institutions shape the lives of people in the 17th century, and how did those people represent their world? Historical sources from the period, and knowledge of the artist's social circumstances, are invaluable to understanding the role of this image.