Portret van een onbekende man, buste, naar rechts 1686

Bernard Vaillant rendered this portrait of an unknown man in pastel around 1685. The sitter’s fashionable wig, dark coat, and white cravat indicate an affluent status in the Netherlands. Vaillant, born in Lille, was part of a family of artists who were among the first to develop pastel as a popular medium for portraiture. Here, the artist uses the soft texture of pastel to bring out the sitter’s rosy complexion and voluminous hair. The technique allowed artists to produce portraits more quickly and cheaply than oil paint, making them accessible to a wider clientele. As a historian, I consider how portraits like these were displayed and consumed. Were they exhibited in public galleries, or were they kept in private homes? What did it mean to have one's likeness captured and circulated in this way? Examining sources, such as letters, diaries, and inventories can tell us much about the social and cultural life of art. Ultimately, understanding art involves seeing it as embedded in the world around it.