Johannes de Doper met lam in een landschap 1682

Valentin Lefebvre created this print of Saint John the Baptist with a lamb in a landscape around the mid-17th century. The work is defined by its detailed linear composition, creating depth and texture through meticulous engraving. Lefebvre uses the contrast between light and shadow to define form, particularly in the figures of John and the lamb, which are positioned in the foreground to draw the viewer's eye. This interplay highlights the symbolic purity and innocence represented by the lamb. In the semiotic tradition, the lamb signifies sacrifice and redemption, concepts central to John's role as a herald of Christ. The landscape, rendered with precise lines, recedes into the background, providing a stage for the biblical narrative. Lefebvre’s work invites us to reflect on the structure of religious symbolism within art and its capacity to convey complex theological ideas through visual form.