Frans Snyder's Wife 1911

Timothy Cole created this engraving called Frans Snyder's Wife. Cole was active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a time when reproductive engraving was still valued. This print is after a painting by Peter Paul Rubens, offering insight into how gender was represented in the 17th century and how it was reinterpreted through Cole's gaze. Here, we see a woman, presumably of high social standing, adorned in an elaborate ruff. She seems self-possessed, yet her identity is almost entirely tied to her husband, reduced to being known solely as "Frans Snyder's Wife." What does it mean to have your identity so closely linked to another person? Cole’s engraving invites us to consider the historical roles assigned to women and the subtle ways artists like Rubens and engravers like Cole participated in shaping those perceptions. This image asks us to consider the complexities of identity, representation, and the enduring power of art.