European

Jan Boeckhorst

Flanders ca. 1604-1668
The Holy Family with Saint John the Baptist 25.0025

---

Boeckhorst's Holy Family includes traditional symbolic references (the white linen and the tree that refer to Christ's lineage and foreshadow future events), and the figure of John the Baptist, who is frequently represented with a reed cross and banner that proclaims ECCE AGNUS DEI: "Behold the Lamb of God." The infant Christ offers John an apple, a symbol of the Fall, as a reminder of Christ's future mission as redeemer. The infant Christ also holds two cherries, symbolic of the fruits of paradise, or heaven. The naturalism and robustness of the infant Christ reveal the influence of the Italian masters on Boeckhorst's representation of the human figure. After studying with Jacob Jordaens, the leading Flemish painter after the death of Peter Paul Rubens, Jan Boeckhorst traveled to Italy to study the works of Titian, Tintoretto, and Veronese. Strongly influenced by their work and that of Rubens, Boeckhorst primarily painted large history paintings with mythological or biblical subject matter.c

 

BACK TO COLLECTION