Jerónimo Nadal, S.J. (1507-1580), like all members of the Society of Jesus, made the Spiritual Exercises and was thus introduced to the Ignatian manner of mediating on the events of the life of Christ. St. Ignatius suggests that the retreatant “see in imagination the place where the object is that [they] wish to contemplate … for example, see the temple, or the mountain where Jesus is.” (Spiritual Exercises #47). This is what Nadal intended by adding engravings to the biblical text in his work Adnotationes et Meditationes. These engravings depict the events narrated in the Gospels and serve as a “composition of place” to assist one meditating by visualizing the scene, allowing one to place themselves in the scene, witness what is happening, hear the words spoken, and note reactions.
Of the 153 engravings in Adnotationes et Meditationes, 132 were executed by three Wierix brothers, all natives of Antwerp: 58 of the engravings belong to Anton (ca. 1555-1604) , 57 to Hieronymus (1553-1619) and 17 to Jan (1559-ca. 1619). The Nativity of Christ, featured here, is the work of Hieronymus and is based on the story found in Luke 2:1-14. Woodstock Theological Library's edition of the Adnotationes et Meditationes is the “edition ultima”, which was printed in Antwerp in 1607 by Jan Moretus (1543-1610) who succeeded the celebrated Christophe Plantin (ca. 152-1589).
This entry written by Rare Book Cataloger Amy Phillips on 12/20/2016