Portret van Lady Essex Finch 1675 - 1693

Jan van der Vaart made this print of Lady Essex Finch, using the technique of mezzotint. The display of wealth and status is what makes the image ‘speak’. It is full of visual codes: the sitter’s elaborate gown, her cultivated beauty, the classical architecture, and the sculpture in the background. These tell us that she is a member of the English aristocracy. Lady Essex was a courtier during the reigns of Charles II, William III, and Queen Anne. Her position depended on the hierarchies of royalty and nobility, and on the smooth workings of court life. The institutions of monarchy and aristocracy were undergoing great change at the time. The old order had been shaken by civil war in the 1640s. This image attempts to stabilize that order by making a persuasive image of social status. As historians, we can draw on many resources to get a sense of the image’s place in time. Genealogical records can tell us about Lady Essex’s family. We can research the history of the court, the system of nobility, and the economics of aristocratic life.