Portret van Johan Lenders Bourlon 1633

This is an engraving of Johan Lenders Bourlon, made by Andries Stock in the Netherlands. While the work might seem like a straightforward portrait, we can understand it better by placing it within its early 17th-century social and institutional context. The Dutch Republic was a new nation, and portraiture served an important function in solidifying a sense of national identity and civic pride. Bourlon's stern gaze and fashionable ruff speak to the self-assurance of the Dutch merchant class, which had become newly wealthy through overseas trade. The inscriptions surrounding his portrait, with references to piety and music, highlight the cultural values of the sitter and the society he inhabited. Understanding this work depends on archival research into the history of Dutch printmaking, as well as the social and economic history of the Dutch Golden Age. This approach reveals the role of art in constructing and reflecting the values of a society.