Portret van pater Bernard Hafkenscheid, volksmissionaris 1855 - 1886

Dirk Jurriaan Sluyter created this print of Bernard Hafkenscheid, a popular missionary, sometime in the 19th century. Note the trappings of faith surrounding the sitter: the crucifix, his clerical garments, and the rosary beads. The popularity of the priesthood at this time owes itself to the gradual reclaiming of religious freedoms in the Netherlands, which had previously been curtailed. This followed a long period of Catholic emancipation throughout Europe. Visual codes and cultural references communicate meaning; this image is consciously conservative. It conveys a sense of stability and order. To understand images like this, the historian needs to analyze the social conditions that shaped artistic production at the time, using resources such as historical documents and studies of religious and political movements. Art’s meaning is always contingent on its social and institutional context.