Evangelist Matteüs 1630 - 1677

Adriaen Lommelin made this engraving of Evangelist Matthew sometime in the 17th century. This print embodies the cultural tensions of the Dutch Golden Age. During this time, the Dutch Republic was undergoing immense economic growth and a shift in religious identity. As a Protestant country, the Dutch Republic struggled with the place of religious imagery. Prints like this one circulated widely and cheaply, enabling a kind of personal connection with religious figures that was at odds with the more communal experience of Catholicism. Look at the bare feet, and the angel at the bottom. The print also exemplifies the increasingly important role of the art market, as artists were less dependent on aristocratic patronage. Lommelin produced many prints after paintings by Peter Paul Rubens, suggesting that prints were a way of publicizing certain kinds of artwork to a wider audience. To understand the print culture of the Dutch Golden Age, you can explore resources like the Dutch Royal Collection Print Room and the New Hollstein Dutch & Flemish Etchings, Engravings and Woodcuts. These resources would help contextualize the social and institutional forces that shaped the production and consumption of prints like this.