Lezende vrouw in een interieur 1719

Bernard Picart made this print of a woman reading in an interior using etching around the turn of the 18th century. The image presents a wealthy domestic interior with the woman at its center. But what's more important is that the image itself helps to constitute the idea of domesticity as a cultural ideal. The setting is a well-appointed room in the Netherlands, a culture that was experiencing an economic boom and a rise in literacy. The woman's dress and the presence of books and decorative objects signal affluence and education. The fireplace and the children playing on the floor indicate a comfortable, private space removed from the public sphere. The image creates meaning through these visual codes, appealing to emerging ideas about the value of family life, the importance of education, and the pleasures of private life. Historians studying the rise of the middle class in the Netherlands might look at prints such as this one as a primary source for understanding how social norms were evolving at the time.