Portret van Johanna de La Cave 1638

This portrait of Johanna de la Cave was made in 1638 by Crispijn van den Queborn as an etching. It’s a fascinating image, less for the way it represents its subject and more for the social circles it evokes. Made in the Dutch Republic, this engraving represents a woman, Johanna de la Cave, who was part of a network of intellectuals. The text surrounding the image is of interest: It mentions Anna Maria van Schurman, a noted intellectual, and alludes to Apelles, the famed painter of antiquity. It references poetry in both French and Dutch and thus gives us a glimpse into the social world of its subject. This work is a product of its time, when printmaking was becoming a vital tool for disseminating ideas and images, forming public opinion, and creating a sense of shared identity. Understanding an image like this means looking beyond its surface. We need to delve into archives, libraries, and the writings of the time to reconstruct the networks of knowledge and power that gave it meaning. Art history is, at its heart, social history.