Maria met Kind en een vogel c. 1592 - 1622

This image, "Maria met Kind en een vogel," was etched by Vespasiano Strada around the turn of the 17th century. Strada, working in the shadow of the Italian Renaissance, places us within a culture deeply shaped by religious narratives. In the image, Mary gazes downward with a tender, almost melancholic expression, her eyes cast away from the viewer. The infant Christ holds a bird, a symbol often interpreted as the soul or, poignantly, as a premonition of Christ's sacrifice. The intimacy of the mother-child bond is palpable, yet it exists within the strictures of religious iconography. Consider the role of Mary in this period – a figure of both maternal warmth and divine significance, her identity shaped by her relationship to the divine. This work invites us to reflect on the complex interplay between religious expectation and human experience. It’s a moment suspended between earthly love and heavenly destiny.