Portret van Clara Juliana, gravin van Nassau-Siegen c. 1675 - 1711

This is an engraving of Clara Juliana, Countess of Nassau-Siegen, made by an anonymous artist. The Countess is portrayed in a classical style, reminiscent of the Roman goddess Diana, complete with a bow, hunting dog, and a crescent moon in her hair. Noblewomen of this era often had their portraits made in ways that alluded to figures from mythology or history, thereby enhancing their status and associating them with idealized virtues. Clara Juliana’s representation as Diana is particularly interesting. Diana was not only the goddess of the hunt but also a symbol of independence and virtue, which were attributes admired in women of the aristocracy. The Countess was a canoness, a member of a religious order for women, which makes her depiction as Diana all the more striking. The emotional resonance of this portrait lies in the tension between Clara Juliana’s religious role and the classical, almost pagan imagery used to portray her, a tension that reveals much about the complex negotiations of identity and representation in the 17th century.