Label Text:
Intimate and personal, yet replete with symbolism, this recognizable composition prefigures the typical modern family portrait. Jules Ferdinand Jacquemart fashioned this print after a painting by Jacob Jordaens, which the painter had developed in two stages. The first stage was painted in 1620–25, and the painting was later completed in the 1650s or early 1660s. In the second stage Jordaens added Saint John, his parents, the angel, the lamb, and the areas above and below the Holy Family. He also elaborated the didactic symbolism, including such figures as the globe and the serpent. The progression from the first to the second stage is interesting given that Jordaens, even though from Catholic Flanders, had converted to Calvinism around 1655.
Calvinists emphasized family values and strict morality. During this time in Northern Europe in particular, depictions of the extended holy family, known as the “Holy kinship,” were a favorite subject. Since believers identified personally with the Holy Family it is not surprising that the depictions of the extended family of Christ directly motivated new interpretations of biblical doctrine. Saint Anne was introduced as the grandmother of Christ, a woman who was described in Apocryphal texts as having been married three times. Her inclusion resulted in a more lenient interpretation of the marital state. Also, while the Catholic Church had imposed strict rules of celibacy for clergy, the Calvinist interpretation of the bible by contrast encouraged intercourse within the confines of marriage for everyone. There were many other consequences that followed from what were at the time radical reinterpretations, leading in various ways to our modern understanding of “Christian family values.” HKDV
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=SC+1968.33 |
