From Sacral to Profane: The Visualization of Parental and Children’s Emotions in Early Modern Europe

The changing role of religion mirrors in the visualizations of the bodily expression of emotions of children and parents. In early modern Europe - the period between the Middle Ages and the Enlightenment - the humanizing approach of this subject within sacral art brought its holy characters closer to people’s emotional world and became a source of inspiration for secular art. This took place mainly in urbanized areas with a working art market made possible through the early capitalist economy, the so-called European Megalopolis, as is the case with Flanders, Tuscany, part of Germany, part of Spain, and the Dutch Republic. Those examples show how sacral art inspired the profane visualization of emotions of child and parents. Moreover, they reflect the increasing impact of an educational mindset and illustrate the compatibility of a stronger focus on human emotions and a more intensive rather than weaker impact of religion on daily life. Therefore, this case from early modern Europe can put the secularization reforms in modern Europe in a broader, long-term perspective.