Child Jesus Overcomes Death and the Devil

Child Jesus Overcomes Death and the Devil

ca 1600

Engraving on paper

Mått 12,40 x 7,50 cm

G Q 329/1911

Gift of Oscar Quensel, 1911

The Christian church dominated the visual culture of Europe, and the world of prints also reflected the self-evident role of Christianity in society. Yet printmaking was uncharted territory and opened new ways of portraying established motifs. In prints, painting’s focus on beauty was replaced by a desire to show detail. Clarity and strong symbolism characterise many religious prints. This was partly due to the fact that the images were disseminated in books, and partly due to the greater freedom and more popular style of prints. Here, humour has its place alongside well-known saints. Grotesque monsters and explicit details of mutilated martyrs could be shown in a way that would have been considered in bad taste in a painting; in this context, however, they were nourishment for the imagination.

Printed. Prints as collector's items, mass media and showpieces, Göteborg, Göteborgs konstmuseum, 14/03/2020 - 16/08/2020