Sadness, Hope, and Joy. The Visual Representation of Emotional Responses of Parents to Children's Death in Early Modern Europe

Emotional responses of parents to children's death in early modern Europe were studied in thirty-three portraits of dead children and their families, commissioned by parents from aristocracy and bourgeoisie. They show the embodiment of emotions varying from sadness to resignation, and from hope to joy in various Christian denominations and concern deceased young girls and boys alike. As visual pendant of deathbed narratives, these portraits bring the viewer face to face with mourning parents and their dead children. Our conclusions go beyond the selected portraits because they represent only a fraction of the large number of such paintings then made.