Portret van een man met de hand op de borst

Hendrick Goltzius made this print of a man with his hand on his chest in the Netherlands, sometime around the turn of the 17th century. The man's confident gaze and elegant clothing suggest a person of status and self-possession. But this is not just a straightforward record of an individual. By placing his hand on his heart, the man signals his virtue and sincerity, aligning himself with a tradition of civic humanism, deeply rooted in the Dutch Republic. The Dutch revolt against the Spanish Empire was underway, and the Netherlands was grappling with issues of national identity. How could the elites justify their rule? In portraits such as these, they turned to art to portray themselves as virtuous leaders. This image speaks to the public role of art as propaganda, reinforcing social norms. The inscriptions around the edge of the image are worth further study. By looking at historical sources like these, we can begin to understand the social conditions that shape artistic production.