Devotional image (Spitzenbild)

Under the designation of lace devotional images (so-called Spitzenbild), we are referring to small devotional images which were cut out from parchment sheets with various piercing and cutting instruments. The pinnacle of creating these small paintings framed in finely cut, tulle-like lace, crafted in botanical motifs, was in the 18th century, and they were created primarily in monasteries, mainly in Germany and Austria. The emergence of this unusual technique was most probably inspired by Eastern paper and leather cut-outs circa 1600.