Bust of the Adult Christ 1652

Claude Mellan made this print, Bust of the Adult Christ, using engraving in the 17th century. Mellan was a printmaker working in France at a time when the Catholic Church and its imagery were powerful forces shaping society. The image of Christ presents meaning through visual codes and cultural references. Consider the halo, the long hair and beard, and the robes; these are all familiar signifiers of Christ in Western art. Religious orders and institutions of art patronage were crucial to the spread and maintenance of these visual languages. Prints such as this one allowed for a wider distribution of religious imagery, and for more people to have access to and contemplate images of Christ. Was this access seen as a democratizing force, or as a tool for social control? As art historians, we can look at the conditions of image production and circulation and consider the politics of imagery. Research into the patronage, the artist's biography, and the religious and political history of the period all help us to understand this image better.