Harmen Jansz Müller Artwork: 1585                                                                 By: Gina Graci

        To represent the history of the interpretation of Rahab the prostitute, I chose a woodcut art piece by Harmen Jansz Müller, who was a Dutch artist. This print was done in the late 1500’s, following the Protestant Reformation. The Reformation had a strong impact on the representation of Rahab in this piece. During the Reformation, prostitution was prohibited and a woman’s role in society was limited. These principles were the similar for the Netherlands where Müller lives as well.¹ In the artwork, Rahab is shown as a brawny, dominant figure, who does not appear to look like a prostitute. This image clashes with the views during the Protestant Reformation, where Rahab would likely be portrayed negatively. Müller has a unique view of Rahab and must have seen Rahab as more than just her occupation. Based on her appearance in the artwork, Müller’s viewpoint might have been that Rahab did convert to Judaism, and God had forgiven Rahab for her sins since she put her faith in God as the biblical story explains. This conclusion is similar to the ideology following the Reformation that sins were forgiven not by doing tasks through the church, but by having faith in God to forgive their sins.² If Müller thought that Rahab sins were not forgiven, or frowned upon prostitutes in general, he would have presented Rahab negatively as a helpless woman who appears to be a prostitute. Müller’s depiction of Rahab reflects how he may have been a Calvinist, as Rahab does not look sinful but powerful. Calvinism was popular in the Netherlands during this time period, and believed that salvation could be completed by faith alone, which is similar to Müller’s beliefs.
        Rahab’s authoritative appearance in the artwork also reflects how women are portrayed following the Reformation; they are viewed as strong prominent beings, with no figurative sin bringing them down and shaming them as humans. Prior to the Reformation, women were seen as weak because their sins were largely impacting their lives and were difficult to remove without the help of the church.
        Women are not commonly featured in Harmen Jansz Müller’s artworks. In the few artworks that women are included in, they are seen as the dominant figure in the art piece. The women are usually larger than the rest of the people in the artwork and are placed above most people, making them an authoritative figure of sorts. However, the women are not depicted as authoritative or as strong as represented in the woodcut. This observation about women in Müller’s artwork shows how even though women are sparsely included, he seems to respect women and believe they have an important role in society, since he includes women at all. This connects to Rahab, since she is a woman, and how she is represented in the artwork. Müller’s beliefs about women don’t agree with the role of women in society during his time period. During the Protestant Reformation, women were not powerful, and were oppressed. They were inferior to men, which is why it is surprising to see the women in Müller’s paintings to be above men in some instances literally and figuratively.
        Harmen Jansz Müller must have had radical beliefs compared to the beliefs of the time as seen in the evidence stated above. Based on his interpretation of women and prostitutes, and by comparing this artwork to his other artworks, Müller’s beliefs stem from the Calvinistic approach and his personal beliefs about women's roles in society. These beliefs were also derived from his country of residence’s stance on prostitution. Overall, Müller’s unique depiction of Rahab was impacted by the Reformation’s ideology of how sin was removed from a person’s life and his personal beliefs about women in general.

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¹ "Prostitution in Amsterdam," Amsterdam.info, Accessed December 2, 2015, http://www.amsterdam.info/prostitution/.
² Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris, "An Introduction the the Protestant Reformation," Khan Academy, Accessed November 24, 2015, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/history/1500-1600-Renaissance-Reformation/protestant-reformation/a/an-introduction-to-the-protestant-reformation.