H. Juliana van Falconieri in extase 1660

Lucas Vorsterman the Younger created this print, H. Juliana van Falconieri in Ecstasy, in the mid-17th century. During this period, the Catholic Church emphasized the role of women in religious life, but often within the confines of established orders. Here, we see Juliana, a saint known for her devotion and service to the sick, caught in a moment of intense spiritual experience. Her eyes are cast upwards, and her hands are open in a gesture of reception. This depiction is interesting, because Juliana is not passively receiving grace; her body is actively engaged, illustrating the relationship between spiritual ecstasy and physical presence. The objects surrounding her - the skull, the crucifix, the rosary - act as both symbols of mortality and instruments of faith, highlighting the complex interplay between life, death, and spiritual transcendence. Vorsterman invites us to contemplate the tension between the saint's personal experience and the structures of the Church. What does it mean for a woman to find agency and expression within a religious framework that often seeks to define her role?