Madonna met staand kind op haar schoot 1851

Charles Nicolas Lemercier created this lithograph, "Madonna met staand kind op haar schoot," sometime in the first half of the 19th century. Lemercier, working in a period of significant social and political change following the French Revolution, presents us with a maternal Madonna, gazing adoringly at her child. The image invites us to consider the roles of women in 19th-century society and the prevailing idealization of motherhood. The Madonna's gentle expression and the intimate embrace of mother and child evoke a sense of warmth and tenderness, reinforcing the cultural value placed on maternal love. However, we should not forget how such images have historically been used to reinforce specific gender roles, limiting women’s identities primarily to that of motherhood, while simultaneously imbuing them with an almost divine purity. Consider what this meant for women outside of the white, middle-class experience so often depicted. Ultimately, the lithograph prompts us to reflect on the historical construction of gender and the ways in which religious imagery can both reflect and shape societal norms.