Heilige Alexandra als kluizenares 1644

Curator: This is “Heilige Alexandra als kluizenares,” or “Saint Alexandra as a Recluse,” an engraving made in 1644 by Christoffel van Sichem the Younger, currently held at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: There’s a certain raw quality here; you can almost feel the lines cut into the block, creating this stark, devotional image. I see a lone figure, haloed, eyes lifted…it's a study in isolation, even transcendence. Curator: It speaks to the baroque fascination with both piety and the individual soul. The historical Alexandra was a Roman empress who chose a life of religious seclusion. Sichem is contributing to an already popular narrative that intersects with contemporary understandings of feminine devotion. Editor: Consider the act of engraving itself – a repetitive, physically demanding labor to reproduce this image. There's a connection to Alexandra's own renunciation. We often overlook that physical toll; religious iconography, especially when disseminated like this, came from a workshop. Curator: Exactly. The means of production here are key. Sichem’s workshop would have made multiple prints for a growing market of religious images and portraits. The image could serve for private worship or public veneration, influencing religious ideas throughout society. Editor: And what’s she reading? A rather thick book – almost handled like another piece of raw material. I find that really fascinating; how that physical contact with knowledge becomes crucial in these engravings. The rough texture emphasizes labor and direct human engagement with the divine. Curator: Absolutely. That book connects to literacy, which was a developing idea for women’s access in society and their involvement in public discourse. It reveals broader socio-political context; beyond just depicting a saint, Sichem depicts an ideal to emulate. Editor: I hadn’t considered the cultural politics – a saint to emulate, distributed in the public sphere. I’ve now learned more about the layered material choices embedded within this solitary image. Curator: And seeing it within a broad, complex moment in social and religious history adds new dimensions. I appreciate seeing the materiality, its implications beyond religious art and piety, in order to consider this from new perspectives.