Uitvinding van de schilderkunst 1695

This print titled "The Invention of Painting" was made anonymously, employing etching and other techniques. It evokes the legend of the Corinthian Maid, Dibutade, said to have invented painting when she traced the shadow of her departing lover on a wall. Images like this one circulated widely in 18th century Europe, the age of the Enlightenment, when the fine arts were being codified into a system of knowledge. Such prints served a public role, by visually promoting new theories of art. This image tells us about the way art academies taught drawing and painting, emphasizing the use of classical models and the art of ancient Greece and Rome. It also reveals something of the institutional culture of art, where historical narratives were used to ennoble painting as an intellectual pursuit, and justify its elevated place in society. By researching period books and prints, we can better understand how people of the time conceived of the origins and purpose of art. The meaning of any artwork is always contingent on its social and institutional context.