Title Page for Biblia Sacra Cvm Glossa Ordinaria

Art Historical Context

This engraving by Hans Collaert the Younger, after a design by Sir Peter Paul Rubens, forms the title page for the Biblia Sacra Cum Glossa Ordinaria, a scholarly 17th-century edition of the Bible accompanied by its traditional medieval commentaries. Created in 1617, the print captures the collaborative spirit of Baroque printmaking, where painters supplied lively compositions that skilled engravers translated into detailed images on laid paper. Such reproductive prints played a vital role in spreading both artistic innovation and religious knowledge during the Counter-Reformation. Rubens, a leading Flemish master known for his dynamic style, frequently contributed designs for book title pages, infusing them with allegorical figures that conveyed the grandeur and authority of sacred texts. Housed in the National Gallery of Art, this work underscores how engravings extended the reach of major artists and ideas far beyond painted originals, making elaborate visual introductions to important publications available to scholars and collectors alike.