Gelijkenis van de onrechtvaardige rentmeester 1629

This woodcut print illustrating the ‘Parable of the Unjust Steward’ was made by Christoffel van Sichem the Younger, in the Netherlands, sometime in the early to mid-17th century. Prints like this one were originally produced as illustrations for bibles, but they became very popular in their own right as a kind of domestic art, and were widely collected by middle-class families. The details of the image help us to understand why. We can see the influence of Italian Renaissance art in the architectural setting. And if we look closely, we can also see a variety of scenes from everyday life. Prints like these were not just religious instruction; they also offered a window onto the wider world. Surviving inventories and household accounts can give us a sense of their importance to the domestic lives of ordinary people. As an art historian, I am interested in the way that the print medium helped to spread ideas, and to shape people’s sense of themselves.