Portret van Anne Zernike 1914 - 1968

Jan Mankes made this etching, Portret van Anne Zernike, in the Netherlands, though we can't tell the specific year. It depicts a woman, Anne Zernike, who was a significant figure in the Dutch clergy. The image is striking for its stark contrast; half her face is cast in shadow. This is a time of shifting social roles, especially for women. Zernike became one of the first female ministers in the Netherlands. The etching’s visual codes, with its somber tones, might reflect the gravity and challenges she faced in a male-dominated religious sphere. Mankes's choice of etching, a medium allowing for detailed yet subtle gradations, enhances the portrait's psychological depth. To fully understand the work, one could delve into the archives of the Dutch Protestant Church, and feminist journals of the time. Art, after all, exists within a social and institutional context.