Portret van Louise Bourgeois op 45-jarige leeftijd c. 1609

This portrait of Louise Bourgeois at age 45 was made using engraving. While the artist remains anonymous, the image offers a glimpse into the visual culture of its time. Made in France, the print reflects the social conventions around portraiture and the representation of women. The sitter's clothing and the formal composition are markers of social status. But the added text suggests a tension between outward appearance and inner qualities. What does it mean to be a woman of 45? What social roles are available for women? Is there an institutional pressure to follow certain norms? Historians use a variety of resources—letters, diaries, account books—to reconstruct the lives of women in early modern Europe and determine the place of this portrait within a much broader social and cultural context. The meaning of this image emerges from its entanglement with the social and institutional forces of its time.