Tabernakel op altaar c. 1666 - 1693

Jean Lepautre’s etching presents us with a tabernacle upon an altar, a stage for the sacred rendered with a precise hand. Above, winged figures flank a central crest, symbols of divine protection and grace, echoing motifs found in Renaissance frescoes and Gothic cathedrals alike. Consider how these angels, these psychopomps, recur across centuries, guiding souls and adorning tombs, their presence a constant whisper of the afterlife. Think of Nike of Samothrace, the Hellenistic sculpture, or even the more ancient Mesopotamian Lamassu. Each form carries the echo of the other, a lineage of the symbolic language, shaped and reshaped. The image engages us on a subconscious level, tapping into our collective memory and stirring our deepest fears and hopes. This yearning for transcendence is not just a religious impulse but a fundamental aspect of human psychology, a desire to connect with something larger than ourselves. Thus, the tabernacle is not just an altar but an invocation, an image imbued with cultural memory.