Peter and John healing the cripple at the gate of the Temple 1659

"Peter and John healing the cripple at the gate of the Temple" is a print by Rembrandt van Rijn, realized during the Dutch Golden Age, a period of both flourishing artistic production and intense religious and social change. Rembrandt, deeply engaged with biblical narratives, brings an emotional and humanistic quality to this depiction. We witness Peter and John at the temple gate, healing a man who has been crippled since birth. Consider the social status of the healed man, who having been a beggar had to rely on the charity of others. Disability is represented here not as a personal tragedy, but as a condition exacerbated by social and economic systems. What strikes me most is the contrast between the architectural grandeur of the temple and the intimate, almost furtive exchange of healing. Rembrandt uses light and shadow to draw our attention to the personal and spiritual transformation occurring. This work invites us to reflect on how power, faith, and individual lives intersect.