Saint Pepin I and his daughter, Saint Begga (ca. 1645–72)
Original title: Saint Pepin I and his daughter, Saint Begga
kurzbeschreibung
Unlike the usual single-saint portraits of the period, this engraving by Franciscus Van Den Steen centers on a father-daughter pair: Saint Pepin I and Saint Begga. Made between about 1645 and 1672, the print measures 33.4 × 26.2 cm (plate) and places the two in a devotional, historical context.
Description
Two half-length figures fill the image: Saint Begga on the left, Saint Pepin I on the right. Begga wears a long, dark robe with a high collar and a head covering that shades her face; a chain rests around her neck. Pepin has a dark, fur-trimmed cap and a dark garment. Both turn toward the same direction, their hands clasped together. A dark, undifferentiated background sets off the figures. The etching remains monochrome in various shades of gray; fine lines and hatching run throughout.
Context
Franciscus Van Den Steen worked as a Flemish engraver in seventeenth-century Antwerp. The subject points to the Carolingian dynasty: Pepin I served as mayor of the palace of the Frankish kingdom, and Begga founded the monastery of Andenne. Saint portraits of this kind promoted veneration and carried forward the Catholic piety of the Counter-Reformation. The span 1645–72 falls within Van Den Steen's active period, when he produced numerous religious prints.
Impact
The calm, frontal arrangement and the joined hands create an intimate, devotional mood. The careful linework and restrained gray tones give the sheet a noble, unobtrusive elegance that invites contemplation.
Technique
The sheet is an etching: fine lines and hatching shape contours and textures. The monochrome gray scale results from printing with a single plate, while depth and structure arise from the varying density of the strokes.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)