Crucifixion of Christ, Mattheus Borrekens, after Anthony van Dyck, after Erasmus Quellinus (II), 1650
engraving, h 1961mm × w 1257mm More details
Enormous prints such as this one were an inexpensive alternative to altarpieces by great masters such as Van Dyck and Rubens. The eleven separate engravings of which this Crucifixion is composed could easily be mounted and hung together. Devotion, thus, was within reach for everyone on the wall of a parish or clandestine church, hospital or workplace. This print survived the ravages of time probably because it was never used in its day.
