Fotoreproductie van de Heilige Familie met de papegaai door Peter Paul Rubens before 1861

Edmond Fierlants created this photogravure reproduction of Peter Paul Rubens's "The Holy Family with a Parrot". The photograph captures the original painting's dynamic composition and rich texture. The swirling forms and dramatic contrasts of light and shadow create a sense of baroque movement. The use of monochrome flattens the three-dimensional space and highlights the formal elements of Rubens's work, turning the piece into a study of shapes, lines, and tonal values. Consider the semiotic shift from paint to photograph; Fierlants’s reproduction not only makes the artwork accessible but also invites a reinterpretation of its signs. The absence of colour invites us to consider the photograph as an object and to think about authenticity and representation. How does the act of reproduction change our understanding of the original artwork and the codes it embodies?