Portret van Herman Boerhaave 1837 - 1840

Carel Christiaan Antony Last made this portrait of Herman Boerhaave with etching around the mid-19th century. Boerhaave was a celebrated Dutch physician, botanist, and chemist of the Dutch Golden Age, whose reputation drew students from across Europe. Last’s print presents a vision of scientific eminence that tells us much about the priorities of 19th-century Dutch society. The formal setting and the way in which the etching imitates the style of a painting, suggests that science was seen as a field worthy of high cultural status. The association of someone like Boerhaave with the traditions of fine art, would have enhanced the prestige of scientific institutions. To understand this artwork fully, we might investigate the Rijksmuseum's acquisition policies, the patronage system for artists like Last, and the broader social attitudes toward science in the Netherlands during this period. The meaning of art is always contingent on its social and institutional context.