“Wild Christian Landscapes”
2026 Beatrice Institute Lenten Campaign
Cornelis Cort…
"Saint John in the Wilderness" is one of the many engravings the Dutchman Cornelis Cort made of various saints in the wild (Mary Magdalen, Saint Eustace, Saint Jerome, Saint Onuphrius, etc.)
In all of them, the religious subject is nearly obscured by the lavish abundance of the surrounding topography, treated with that iconic Northern Renaissance attention to detail. But why obscure the prophet and highlight the rock, the stump, the stream?
John himself seems to be gazing in intent meditation on a vine-entwined tree trunk, distracted momentarily from his prayer. Clearly, the viewer is meant to dwell within the world of the engraving...
Perhaps the cross-meets-staff, resting by the lamb, can give us a hint as to why. Notice how it points our eyes further up and further in to a distant view of pastureland and hillside, to (perhaps) the New Jerusalem which that very paschal lamb will usher in.
The voice of one crying out the in the wilderness...
When I hear that passage from Isaiah concerning John the Baptist, I tend to isolate the voice. Cort however, emphasizes the latter part: the landscape where that voice is heard.
The lavishness, the wildness, the harshness, the sublimity that exist in creation (and which Cort painstakingly engraved in this piece) are reflected in the Christian spiritual life. Lent is a liturgical manifestation of that landscape—lavish, wild, harsh, and sublime.
Lenten Campaign
This Lent, in a series on Wild Christian Landscapes, we’ll reflect on some of the fascinating environments and metaphorical ecosystems we explore with our undergraduate fellows, things like the world of Christian fasting.
Alongside these reflections will be an opportunity for you, in the spirit of the widow at the Temple, to donate to support specific needs of Beatrice Institute.
I look forward to meeting with you over these meditations and to encountering your generosity!
Warmly,
Susan Meland | Development and Communications