Arkivism
The Virgin and Child with the cat and the snake
Public domain

The Virgin and Child with the cat and the snake

Rembrandt van Rijn · 1654 · etching; intaglio printmaking technique; paper

From the collection of Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.

About this work

This intimate scene is less ordinary than it seems. Rembrandt etches the Virgin holding her child in her arms, apparently cosily seated near the window. However, the snake slithering out from under her skirt has no place in a domestic idyll. The Virgin treading on the snake is a theological allusion that was understood at the time as foreshadowing Christ’s triumph over Satan.

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam’s own description
Subjects
print
Credit lineMaria en kind met de kat en de slang. 1654. Rembrandt van Rijn. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Public domain.
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