Portrait of Jacques Specx, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies 1750 - 1800

This is a portrait of Jacques Specx, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies, created by an anonymous artist with oil on panel. The image creates meaning through visual codes and cultural references. The sober attire and the lace collar, were a standard convention for representing powerful men in the Netherlands during the 17th century. The title of this man, as we can read in the cartouche below the image, denotes his administrative position in the Dutch East Indies. Looking deeper, historians would need to research archival documents from institutions, such as the Dutch East India Company to understand the social conditions that shaped the creation of this artwork. Was this portrait commissioned by the administration to portray him in an official manner? Was it for the family? Why was the artist not identified? These kinds of questions help us understand the painting better, but also to understand the role that the portrayed man had in the colonial structure of the time.