Fotoreproductie van Lasset die Kinder zu mir kommen door Bernard Plockhorst 1899

This is a photographic reproduction of Bernard Plockhorst’s “Let the Children Come to Me.” Plockhorst was a 19th-century German painter, part of a circle of artists interested in reviving religious art. This image reflects the social role of religious art in the late 1800s. At a time of rapid industrialization, artists turned to traditional imagery to reaffirm Christian values. Plockhorst creates a sentimental image of Jesus surrounded by children, a scene that emphasizes innocence and the importance of religious education. The popularity of such images speaks to the increasing role of children in middle-class culture, particularly in the domestic sphere. Note the softness of the tones and the emphasis on sentiment; these visual codes are intended to appeal to the emotions. Understanding this artwork requires researching the history of religious painting in 19th-century Germany, examining popular attitudes toward religion and childhood, and tracing the circulation of such images through the developing institutions of the art world, such as exhibitions and art journals. In this way, we can understand the social and institutional context that shaped its meaning and purpose.