Putti met buste van vrouw tussen bomen c. 1705 - 1754

Jacob de Wit created this pen and brown ink drawing of putti with a bust of a woman amidst trees in the 18th-century Netherlands. The drawing presents a playful scene, yet it's steeped in the visual language of its time. We see putti, those cherubic figures so beloved in Baroque art, frolicking around a classical bust. The classical imagery evokes a sense of established order. The Dutch Republic in the 1700s was a society that looked to classical antiquity for models of civic virtue and artistic excellence, and De Wit was a central figure in propagating such ideas. Consider the institutions that supported art like this: wealthy patrons, art academies, and the market for decorative arts. These institutions helped shape not only what art was made but also how it was understood. To dig deeper, we might look into archival records, period writings on art theory, and the social networks of artists and patrons. The meaning of art is always shaped by its social and institutional context, making it a fascinating subject for historical inquiry.