The Holy Family at right, with the infant Saint John the Baptist, Elizabeth, Zacharias, and an angel at left 1631 - 1637

Pieter de Jode II created this engraving, "The Holy Family," in the 17th century. It depicts Mary, Joseph, Jesus, John the Baptist, Elizabeth, Zacharias, and an angel in a serene landscape. Engravings like this played a crucial role in disseminating religious and moral ideas in the Netherlands at this time. The Holy Family was a popular subject, embodying ideals of domesticity and piety. The presence of John the Baptist and the angel suggests a divine blessing upon this family. De Jode, as an engraver, was part of a sophisticated printmaking industry. Prints were not just artworks, but also commodities, traded and collected. The inscriptions at the bottom, in Latin, indicate a learned audience, and we might want to research their source and significance in order to more fully understand the artist’s purpose. By studying De Jode's life and the artistic and religious context of his time, we can better understand this work as a product of its social and institutional environment.