Buste van een man met tulband 1638

Salomon Koninck made this etching of a man in a turban in 1630. During the 17th Century, it was very common for Dutch artists to paint portraits of people wearing exotic clothing, particularly turbans. These portraits were called 'tronies' and they were not portraits of specific people, but rather studies of different character types. It is important to remember that in the Netherlands at this time, people would likely have little to no contact with other cultures. The clothes and turbans were just props, sourced from costume shops and personal collections. Paintings like this reflect the fascination and misunderstandings that Europeans had about other cultures. This raises questions of cultural appropriation that we still grapple with today. By studying this image and the history of Dutch painting, along with period sources like travel writing, we can begin to understand how Dutch identity was constructed in relation to the rest of the world.