Portret van Johannes Wtenbogaert 1813

Diederik Jan Singendonck created this print of Johannes Wtenbogaert in the early 19th century using etching. This artwork is a copy after Rembrandt so we must ask, why copy an older work? Prints had become increasingly popular by the 19th century, creating a market for images after famous paintings, appealing to a growing middle class with an appetite for art. Wtenbogaert was a significant figure in Dutch religious history and in Dutch society of the 17th century, making him a fitting subject for this trend. The original image would have been made at a time of great social and political upheaval in the Netherlands, in which the church played a significant role. By the 19th century, the church was still a central institution. The act of reproducing it through printing technology is related to the institutional demand for this kind of imagery at this time. As art historians, we might look at the archives of museums and galleries, as well as the records of printmakers, to find out more about the social context surrounding this print.