De Heilige Familie met engelen c. 1640 - 1721

Jan Baptist Herregouts created this etching titled 'The Holy Family with Angels', sometime around the late 17th or early 18th century. The image depicts Mary, Joseph, and the infant Jesus surrounded by angels, in line with the Roman Catholic culture and artistic traditions of Herregouts's time. What strikes me about this image is how it encapsulates the dual nature of motherhood within a patriarchal religious framework. Mary is revered and elevated, yet simultaneously confined to the roles of caregiver and mother. The gaze of the figures directs our attention to the Christ child, positioned as the focal point of the composition and of the family itself. The surrounding angels, who represent purity and divine intervention, serve to emphasize the sacredness of the family unit, while the intimacy of the scene humanizes them. The piece invites us to reflect on the idealized yet restrictive representations of family and womanhood that have persisted throughout history.