Portret van Jan Hulswit 1809 - 1850

Jean Augustin Daiwaille made this portrait of Jan Hulswit using graphite and charcoal. We can look at this image and ask how it creates meaning through its visual codes, cultural references, and historical associations. Hulswit's dress tells us something about his social standing. The image's composition reminds us of other formal portraits displayed in the great institutions of art. It was made in the first half of the 19th century, a period in the Netherlands defined by particular social structures that gave prominence to people of Hulswit's class. Was the work commissioned? If so, we could ask how Hulswit himself wanted to be seen. Did he want to project a conservative image? Or was it a progressive one? The historian of art will ask these questions while consulting a variety of resources to better understand the portrait's social and institutional context. Ultimately, we want to see art as something deeply contingent on its specific time and place.