Portretten van Janus Secundus, Claes Abrahamsz. van Delft en Willem Jacobsz. Delff 1815

Jacob Ernst Marcus created this print, "Portretten van Janus Secundus, Claes Abrahamsz. van Delft en Willem Jacobsz. Delff," sometime before his death in 1826. The work is an engraving, a medium that lends itself to the precise rendering of likeness. Marcus’s choice of medium speaks to the cultural and historical context in which the print was created. Engravings like this one were important for disseminating images of prominent figures, crafting and controlling their public image. The portraits themselves, of three men of status, evoke questions about identity, power, and representation. Who gets remembered, and how? The sharp detail of the engraving almost feels like it's making a claim about historical truth, but it's also important to remember that portraiture is always, in some sense, a performance of identity. Consider how portraits like this one shape our understanding of history, how they uphold or challenge existing power structures, and whose stories they leave untold.