De heilige Apollonia c. 1530 - 1550

This small 16th-century engraving by the artist known only as Monogrammist AC depicts Saint Apollonia, the patron saint of dentists, holding a tooth and a book. Images like these played a significant role during the Reformation. The visual codes of the halo, her dress, and symbolic objects would have been easily recognizable to viewers, reinforcing religious doctrine. The print's small size suggests that it was likely mass-produced, perhaps to be carried on the body as a talisman or glued into a book of hours. These devotional aids provided comfort to people who were undergoing tremendous social upheaval, and helped to reinforce popular religion in the face of Protestant reforms. The question remains, was the artist a devout Catholic or a more secular-minded professional simply fulfilling a commission? The historical record can help us interpret these images. By consulting archives and libraries for comparable prints, or studying religious literature of the time, we can gain further insight into the social and institutional contexts that influenced the creation and use of images such as this.