Gekroonde Maria met Kind 1586 - 1650

Cornelis Galle I created this engraving of the crowned Virgin Mary and Child. We see the Madonna and Child in the foreground, surrounded by a radiance and set against a landscape. Images like this gained enormous social traction in the early 17th century, in the wake of the Council of Trent. Here, the Catholic Church sought to revitalize its devotional practices by reaffirming traditional doctrines and practices, especially the veneration of the Virgin Mary and the saints. Galle, who lived in Antwerp, then part of the Spanish Netherlands, was active at a time when religious conflict between Catholics and Protestants was reshaping European politics. Galle and other printmakers played a crucial role in promoting Counter-Reformation ideology through the mass production and distribution of devotional images. Historical research into the dissemination of prints like this can tell us a great deal about the cultural and political landscape of early modern Europe.