Aardse en hemelse Drieëenheid 1629

Christoffel van Sichem II created this woodcut, titled “Earthly and Heavenly Trinity,” in the Netherlands, sometime in the early 17th century. It depicts the Holy Family watched over by the Holy Trinity, with an inscription in Dutch below. The print reflects the visual culture of the Counter-Reformation. The imagery is carefully composed to emphasize traditional Catholic doctrine. God the Father looms above, while the Holy Spirit radiates light through the center. These are standard iconographic representations of divinity, intended to visually reinforce religious dogma amid the Protestant Reformation. Meanwhile, below are shown the earthly figures of Mary, Joseph, Jesus, and John. These figures are rendered as holy family for the beholder to emulate. The Rijksmuseum possesses a wealth of prints and other historical documents from this period. These resources are invaluable in reconstructing the social and institutional contexts that shaped the production and reception of religious art. Such resources can help us to better understand the public role of art and the politics of imagery in the early modern period.