Heilige Familie met Johannes de Doper als kind 1605 - 1653

This drawing was made by Pieter Fransz de Grebber in the Dutch Republic during the first half of the seventeenth century. It depicts the Virgin Mary with the infant Jesus and John the Baptist, Joseph, and other figures looking on. While ostensibly a scene of familial devotion, it is worth thinking about what the image might say about the place of religion in the social life of the time. The Dutch Republic was a Protestant nation, but this drawing is a Catholic image of the Holy Family. This was a time of some religious tension, and images like this would have served to reinforce the place of the Catholic Church in Dutch society. The historian’s role is to investigate the institutional and cultural dynamics that inform the production and reception of art. Looking into the religious history of the Netherlands during this period will reveal the social function of this drawing.