Maria met kind 1595 - 1599

Editor: Here we have "Maria met kind" from 1595-1599, an engraving by Jan Collaert the Second, currently held at the Rijksmuseum. I’m immediately struck by the intense gaze between Mary and the Christ Child, set against what looks like a rather turbulent sky. What do you see in this piece, beyond the obvious religious symbolism? Curator: Oh, my dear, what a marvel of line and light, isn't it? Beyond the readily apparent symbolism—the Virgin, the infant Christ, angels flitting about—I find myself drawn to the *texture* of the divine in the everyday. Collaert, in his delicate lines, captures not just the holiness, but a palpable humanity. See how Mary's drapery falls, weighty and real, even as she levitates in this heavenly realm? It is an interplay, I think, between earthly constraints and the boundlessness of the divine. Do you find that tension present as well? Editor: Yes, absolutely. The details in her robe contrast so much with the fogginess surrounding her. It makes her feel…grounded, almost. I’m curious about the landscape elements. What is their significance? Curator: Ah, the background—that's where Collaert lets his imagination truly take flight. Look closely: Is it a real place, or a landscape of the soul? The distant city, perhaps representing earthly dominion, fades into an ethereal glow. The angel Annunciation to Mary – perhaps representing the transition to heavenly. For me, it suggests a world poised between the mortal and the eternal, and that tender exchange between mother and child – an intimation of something profoundly sacred breaking through. But perhaps, just perhaps, it is the artist's gentle way of reminding us that even in the most ordinary of moments, the extraordinary can take seed and flourish. Editor: That’s a beautiful thought. I hadn't considered the background in that light. It really changes the mood of the entire engraving. Curator: Doesn't it always? The joy is in letting the art whisper its secrets, layer by exquisite layer. What a journey!