Portret van John Toland 1739 - 1791

This is Johanna Dorothea Sysang's portrait of John Toland. Its engraving shows a balance between form and symbolism. The oval frame and the rectangular base create a structured composition, while the subject is John Toland, depicted holding his book 'Pantheisticon'. The lines of the engraving are precise, creating texture and depth and thus adding to the portrait's realism. Sysang uses a combination of stippling and hatching to define the contours of Toland's face and clothing. This technique gives the image a tactile quality, as the varying densities of the marks create areas of light and shadow. Toland, known for his philosophical challenges to traditional religious thought, is presented here with both formality and a hint of intellectual defiance. The portrait is part of a broader cultural discourse of the Enlightenment, where thinkers like Toland questioned established norms.