The Virgin with the Fish 1775

Francesco Bartolozzi created this print, The Virgin with the Fish, sometime between 1728 and 1815. Note the convergence of symbols around the Virgin Mary and infant Christ. A seemingly simple fish, offered by the child at the lower left, carries a profound weight. In early Christian iconography, the fish, or "ichthys" in Greek, was an acrostic for "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior." But this symbol’s journey doesn't end there. Consider its earlier life as a pagan symbol, linked to fertility and the sea, echoing the cyclical nature of life itself. Observe also the halo, a symbol adopted from the Roman emperors to signal divinity and authority. It reappears across cultures, even gracing the heads of Buddhist figures. What is this persistent visual language telling us? Perhaps it reveals a collective yearning, etched in our subconscious, to imbue certain figures with an aura of the sacred and the divine. Ultimately, these symbols create a powerful, resonant image. They invite us to contemplate the enduring human need for archetypes, for symbols that transcend time, and for the stories we tell ourselves about divinity.