HOME ALTAR, VAN BLIJENBURG FAMILY
C. 1555-1565, Mechelen area, Oil on panel and alabaster, Huis Van Gijn Collection, long-term loan from the Stichting Collot d’Escury, 1952
The Reformation affected how people perceived religion in the sixteenth century. Members of the Calvinist Church thought that every believer could pray directly to God. This idea also influenced the Catholics, who thus started practicing their faith not only at church, but also at home. To that end, they ordered home altars such as this one owned by the Van Blijenburg family. Altars were not used in the Calvinist faith but when after 1572 the family converted to Calvinism, they still kept their altar: the shutters have lovely family portraits on them and the quality of the craftsmanship is exceptional.