Portret van Robert Carr, 1e graaf van Somerset 1747 - 1749

This is an engraving of Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset, created by Jacob Houbraken. The composition is striking, framed within an oval border that merges portraiture with symbolic objects. Houbraken uses the formal structure of portraiture as a stage to explore power and representation. The portrait is carefully arranged, with Carr positioned centrally, his gaze meeting ours, but it's the semiotic layering that truly engages. Below the portrait is an arrangement of armor. The discarded armor and weaponry subtly destabilize the established valor that they traditionally signify. The frame is a formal device, but it also acts as a boundary—between the man and the symbols, between the viewer and the viewed. Houbraken’s piece encourages us to question the constructed nature of identity. It reminds us that portraits, even those laden with symbols of power, are interpretations, and perhaps interrogations, rather than straightforward representations of reality.