Portretten van Louise van Solms en een onbekende hooggeplaatste vrouw, beiden als herderin 1640

Crispijn van de Passe II created this print, "Portretten van Louise van Solms en een onbekende hooggeplaatste vrouw, beiden als herderin," sometime between 1597 and 1670. The piece presents two oval portraits, each depicting a woman in the guise of a shepherdess, rendered with delicate lines and meticulous detail. The composition, divided symmetrically, invites a comparative reading of its subjects and their symbolic roles. The formal structure of the portraits, enclosed within identical oval frames, suggests a parallel between the women. Note how the artist uses contrasting elements to differentiate them. One is set against a natural backdrop of foliage and landscape, while the other is positioned before an architectural structure, possibly a castle. These contextual cues imply differing social roles or personal attributes. The shepherdess motif itself invites semiotic scrutiny. Traditionally, the shepherdess symbolizes pastoral virtue and simplicity. However, when adopted by aristocratic women, it serves as a complex signifier of power, wealth, and an engagement with fashionable literary and artistic trends. The lines of this print thus function not merely as aesthetic contours but as components of a visual language that complicates conventional meanings of identity.