The Conferring of a Degree at the University of Leiden about 1650 c. 1650 - 1660

Hendrick van der Burch painted the scene in front of the University of Leiden around 1650 with oil on canvas. Here we see the conclusion of rigorous study marked by the conferring of a degree. In the 17th century Dutch Republic, universities were pivotal sites for shaping intellectual and social elites, and the painting gives us a glimpse into this world. The men dominate the center of the composition, a visual assertion of the gendered nature of academic life during this period. Yet, a group of women populate the foreground. Positioned on the periphery, they are mostly defined by their roles as mothers and wives, marking their exclusion from the formal academic sphere. Although, they are present and bear witness. Van der Burch captures a moment rife with the tensions of inclusion and exclusion, aspiration, and the quiet acknowledgment of a social order. The artist asks us to consider who has access to knowledge and who is left watching from the outside.