Early 17th Century Engraving By Baudous: Family In Front Of A Richly Dressed Table

Blessing.
In a dining room, a family sits at a richly set table. The parents and the oldest daughter are seated while the four youngest children are standing. The little one in prayer stands near his mother's knees. To the right, an opening gives onto a garden where on the threshold grows a vine laden with grapes, allegory of maternal fertility referring to Psalm 128. Behind each of the children there is an olive branch, at the same time allusion, through the history of the flood and of Noah's ark, to peace but also through holy chrism, of which it is one of the ingredients to carry out the anointings at various times and more particularly at the beginning of Christian life, the symbol of participation in the strength of God. Eight lines in Latin and five in Dutch accompany the image. Rare print.
Hollstein: 71 (see also Joan Savary)