Late 19th-Century German Devotional Print

Archive Notes

Antique Framed German Madonna and Child Lithograph
An aged Catholic devotional print depicting the crowned Virgin Mary holding the Christ Child against a detailed field of halos, monograms, stars, and sacred ornament.
The Latin inscription reads:

Dilectus meus mihi et ego illi.
“My beloved is mine, and I am his.”

The phrase comes from the Song of Songs and was frequently adapted in Marian imagery to express the intimate spiritual bond between Mary and Christ.
Small credits beneath the image identify V. Oer as the painter of the original composition and B. Kühlen of M. Gladbach as the publisher. Bernhard Kühlen’s Mönchengladbach firm was an important German producer of Christian lithographs and devotional ephemera during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The print has a black wooden frame with exposed brown undertones, scattered abrasions, and an old backing held with irregular nails. Devotional art was framed, displayed, and carried through generations.

Details

• Origin: Mönchengladbach, Germany
• Date: Likely late 19th century
• Material: Printed paper under glass, painted wooden frame, corrugated backing, metal nails and hanging wire
• Decoration: Crowned Madonna and Child with halos, stars, Marian monograms, and dense ornamental background
• Inscription: “Dilectus meus mihi et ego illi.”
• Publisher: B. Kühlen, M. Gladbach
• Artist Credit: “V. Oer, pinx.”; exact artist identity not firmly confirmed
• Features: Original-style aged framing, glass front, old backing, twisted wire hanger
• Dimensions: Approximately 12 in. wide × 16 in. high
• Condition: Considerable age-related wear throughout. Frame has rubbed and missing black finish, exposed wood, small edge losses, and surface dirt. Hanging wire is twisted and worn. Please review all photographs closely.