Christus voorspelt de komst van de Heilige Geest 1629 - 1740

Christoffel van Sichem II created this engraving, "Christ predicts the coming of the Holy Spirit," sometime before his death in 1658, likely in the Netherlands. Religious images in the Dutch Golden Age existed in a complex social landscape. While the Dutch Republic was officially Protestant, various religious and spiritual beliefs circulated. This print uses symbolic imagery, such as the small roundels depicting scenes from Christ's life, to communicate theological concepts about the Holy Spirit, yet this very act of visualizing the divine could be seen as controversial in some Protestant circles. Prints like this were often produced for personal devotion and reflection. The added text below the image, which includes a bible verse and a poem, encourages individual contemplation. Studying the production and distribution of such prints can tell us much about the religious climate of the time. Understanding this artwork requires us to investigate the printing industry of the period and the various theological debates taking place within Dutch society.