Grafmonument van Gwijde van Avesnes in de Dom van Utrecht 1891

This photographic print shows the tomb of Guy of Avesnes in the Dom Church of Utrecht. Although the exact date the tomb was created is unknown, it gives us some clues about the social and cultural context of its time. Guy of Avesnes was the bishop of Utrecht between 1301 and 1317, an important position of power within the church and local government. The tomb is situated inside the main church where the bishop held office, an institution as central to medieval life as any. The architecture is Gothic, a visual code of medieval Europe, the pointed arches reaching up to heaven, and the effigy itself an assertion of class and importance. Images of tombs such as this tell us a lot about the status of the deceased and the priorities of the institutions who commissioned them. The archives of the Dom Church and the local government are key resources in understanding the history and politics of Utrecht at the time. The meaning of art is contingent on such social and institutional contexts.