Heilige Macarius de Jongere after 1636

Frederick Bloemaert made this print of Saint Macarius the Younger in the Netherlands in the 17th century. Prints like these were made to circulate widely, teaching the faithful about the lives of exemplary saints. Macarius is shown here in a moment of prayer. Notice how the artist uses line to depict the folds in the saint’s simple garments, drawing our eye to the open book and crucifix at his feet. The Dutch Republic was at this time a Protestant country, but Catholic artists like Bloemaert continued to produce images for private devotion. Though not commissioned by the established church, these prints were important for keeping the Catholic faith alive. To further understand the audience for these images, we could consult inventories of Dutch households, kept in local archives. We might discover that the market for religious prints crossed confessional lines, proving that artistic meaning is shaped by broad social factors.