Man in zeventiende-eeuws kostuum 1827 - 1891

Johannes Bosboom made this drawing, Man in Seventeenth-Century Costume, with a graphite pencil. We might see this image as part of a broader trend in nineteenth-century Dutch art, in which artists looked back to the Dutch Golden Age for inspiration. The seventeenth century became a touchstone, a moment of national pride, amidst the social and political changes of the 1800s. Here, Bosboom renders a figure in period clothing with swift, economical lines. He is leaning on a chair, perhaps waiting, or posing. Was Bosboom interested in historical accuracy? Or was he more interested in using the past to reflect on the present? As historians, we might consider the role of institutions such as the Rijksmuseum, where this drawing now resides. How did such institutions shape artistic taste and national identity? Research into Bosboom’s biography, as well as the cultural politics of the Netherlands in the 1800s, could shed further light on this evocative sketch.