Maria met het Kind aan de borst 1648 - 1664

Curator: Welcome. Before us is Cornelis van Dalen II’s print, “Maria met het Kind aan de borst,” placing it in the Baroque period sometime between 1648 and 1664. It is currently held in the Rijksmuseum. Editor: My first impression is the profound sense of serenity. The light, despite being achieved through engraving, feels warm. Curator: Indeed. This is more than just a tender moment; it’s the iconic depiction of maternal love elevated through the lens of religious symbolism. Breastfeeding, in this context, is loaded. Editor: Visually, there is something deeply engaging about how van Dalen structured the tonal contrasts. Notice how he uses darker, heavily worked areas to define the spatial recessions while letting the light literally radiate from Mary and Jesus. Curator: Consider the historical weight. We are observing not only an image of care but an evocation of a key icon from the religious worldview. The intimacy portrayed reminds us of both Mary's human connection to Jesus and its echoes of the all-nourishing, mother church. Editor: I would add the semiotic function of light and shadow. How he handles light defines a conceptual space – divine love. See how halos rendered with bright light are around the head of both the child and the mother. Curator: Certainly. We can read how she is nurturing a future savior. In many visual theologies, maternal feeding is understood as the nurturing, generative life force. Editor: Agreed. If we follow through to think of compositional components such as light as signifying that which is of significance in culture and social structures, one sees it. Curator: Yes. We are observing her holiness expressed through the physical, which subverts cultural expectations of beauty as well as feminine ideals. Editor: Well, what truly captures my imagination is the capacity of such rudimentary printmaking to generate so profound an experience. A true master of contrasts! Curator: Ultimately, Van Dalen invites us to reflect on these concepts of divinity made human, the visual depiction of theological concepts. Editor: Indeed. A subtle yet profound visual construction.