The Sacred Heart of Jesus is a symbol of divine love and mercy and particularly of the loving and suffering Messiah. Originally honoured as part of the mediaeval devotion to the Five Sacred Wounds, it became a standalone veneration in the 17th century. The veneration of the Sacred Heart experienced a spectacular bloom during World War One, reaching such a peak in the decade afterwards that the church had to step in to regulate and standardise its depiction into the form we see today. When images of the Sacred Heart began to appear in vast numbers in public spaces and went on to conquer many a Flemish living room, this therefore happened with minimal room for creativity. It may have occupied the place of honour in Flemish living rooms, but it was nevertheless also one of the kitschiest images that Catholic popular devotion has ever produced.