Christuskind helpt Jozef met zagen 1617

This engraving, made by Christoffel van Sichem II, depicts the Christ Child helping Joseph in his carpentry workshop. At first glance, we see domesticity. Yet, it’s the radiant halo around the child’s head that signals the divine presence amidst the mundane. Consider the halo itself: a symbol of enlightenment and divine grace, tracing its origins back to ancient sun disks used to denote power. Here, it marks Jesus, not as a mere child, but as the embodiment of divine light, working alongside Joseph. This is in stark contrast with the pre-Christian use of halos on ancient Greek and Roman gods, such as Apollo. The gesture, the setting, and the very presence of the child invite us to contemplate the eternal within the everyday. This emotional paradox, this tension between the earthly and the divine, engages us on a deep, almost subconscious level. It serves as a reminder of how symbols evolve through time, reflecting our ever-changing understanding of the sacred and the profane.