Priester met twee misdienaars voor een altaar 1661

Sébastien Leclerc I created this engraving titled "Priester met twee misdienaars voor een altaar" sometime between 1637 and 1714. Leclerc was the official draughtsman and engraver for Louis XIV, so his positionality was one of power and privilege. The print depicts a priest with two child attendants before an altar and invites questions about religious authority and the power dynamics inherent in religious rituals. The role of children as "misdienaars," or altar servers, highlights the ways in which religious institutions involve and shape the lives of young people. How might the experience of participating in these rituals impact their understanding of faith and their place within the church? Leclerc's work prompts us to consider the emotional and psychological dimensions of religious practice, as well as the ways in which religious institutions perpetuate hierarchies of power and influence. What does it mean to come of age within the church?