Priester met twee misdienaars voor een altaar 1661

This small engraving, made by Sébastien Leclerc I, depicts a priest with two altar servers during what appears to be a religious ceremony. Dominating the scene is the altar itself, adorned with candles and a depiction of what seems to be the embalming of Christ. The act of embalming, preserving the body, echoes ancient rituals of ancestor worship. Think of Egyptian mummification practices, where the body was prepared for an afterlife journey. Here, the embalming of Christ suggests a desire to transcend death, to preserve the sacred for eternity. Consider the enduring image of the Pietà: the Virgin Mary cradling the dead Christ. This image, laden with grief and tenderness, finds echoes in Leclerc's print. These scenes resonate with our collective consciousness, tapping into deep-seated emotions about loss and sacrifice, the cyclical nature of life, death, and rebirth. It is a reminder of how symbols persist, adapting to new cultural landscapes yet retaining a primal emotive power.