Man of Sorrows with the Three Marys and the Evangelists 1555 - 1618

Adriaen Collaert created this engraving, "Man of Sorrows with the Three Marys and the Evangelists," around the turn of the 17th century, a time of immense religious and political strife in Europe. Collaert’s work gives us a window into the deeply emotional and theatrical expressions of faith during the Counter-Reformation. The figures surrounding Christ—the three Marys and the Evangelists—are wrought with grief, embodying the raw, human response to divine suffering. This intense emotionality was a deliberate strategy by the Catholic Church to reignite religious fervor amidst the rise of Protestantism. Yet, the composition isn't just a straightforward religious scene. It reflects the socio-political tensions of its time, where the portrayal of pain and redemption served as a powerful tool for reaffirming religious identity and authority. Collaert’s engraving invites us to contemplate the intersection of faith, power, and the collective experience of suffering, mirrored in the faces of those who mourn.