The Acts of the Apostles

Date1643 or 1646

PeriodDutch Golden Age

Place MadeAmsterdam, Netherlands, Europe

MediumEngraving

Dimensions25.5 x 33.5 cm

Credit LineGift of Drs. John and Bessie Sawhill

Object number76.1.960

On View

Not on view

Inscribed'Martinus Heemskerck Inventor' 'Emicat en Stephanus, primus qui in agone corona Commeruit, sancte de quo prenuncia palme Vox cecinit, Christi pro nomine sanguine fuso Astra patere, videt nam celos Martyr apertos' 'Ac. Cap. 6. 12.'

Markings11 in bottom right corner of text 161 on bottom right corner of page

Label TextPhilips Galle (1537 - 1612) engraved the original copper plate of Maarten van Heemskerck’s St. Stephen before the high priest and the council, in 1575. He first published it in Antwerp that same year as part of a series called Acta Apostolorum (Acts of the Apostles), on the lives of the apostles. Latin captions that were added in the second edition. The print owned by the Madison Art Collection was published by Claes Janz Visscher II (1586 - 1652) and Jan Philipsz Schabaelje (1585 - 1656) about 70 years later in Den Grooten Figuer-Bibel, a large illustrated Bible which contained prints from some of the original plates of Acta Apostolorum. Visscher and Schabaelje made several alterations to the text on the original plate: they moved the scripture reference to the center of the Latin inscription and added specific verses, changed the script font, and centered Heemskerck’s name. In addition to these minor changes, Visscher and Schabaelje also removed a figure from the original scene. In earlier prints, two figures sit in the clouds in the top right corner, representing the ascended Christ and God the Father. In this print, the publishers replaced the figure of God the Father with the four Hebrew letters YHVH. This group of letters, called the Tetragrammaton, is the shortened Hebrew name for God the Father. Visscher and Schabaelje’s change to the print reflects the difference in religious belief between Antwerp and Amsterdam in the 16th and 17th centuries. The original Acta Apostolorum was published in Antwerp, a Catholic city, which allowed for artistic representations of God. Visscher and Schabaelje published their illustrated Bible in Protestant-leaning Amsterdam and were themselves Calvinist and Mennonite, respectively. They therefore changed the print in accordance with the Heidelberg Catechism which states, “God, who is purely spiritual and not physical, may not be depicted.” This was a common occurrence for prints whose subject-matter was not overtly Catholic and were therefore easily adapted for Protestant viewers.

Titles

St. Stephen before the High Priest and Council

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