Drie vergulde monstransen, opgesteld op een tentoonstelling over religieuze objecten uit de middeleeuwen en renaissance in 1864 in Mechelen before 1866

This photograph by Joseph Maes captures three gilded monstrances displayed at a religious objects exhibition in Mechelen in 1864. The stark presentation focuses the eye on the intricate, hierarchical arrangement of the objects. Maes has carefully framed the monstrances to emphasize their verticality and ornate details. Each monstrance is distinct in its design, yet all share a common structure of a base, stem, and elaborate radiating halo, creating a visual rhythm across the image. The texture is palpable, from the smooth gleam of the metal to the finely wrought filigree. This image destabilizes the traditional understanding of religious art by removing the sacred objects from their liturgical context and placing them in the secular space of an exhibition. The photograph encourages us to consider the monstrances not just as devotional items, but also as aesthetic and historical artifacts. The formal arrangement invites a semiotic reading, where the objects signify power, history, and the evolving relationship between the sacred and the secular.