Adriaen van Swieten 1579

In 1579, Hendrick Goltzius made this engraving of Adriaen van Swieten, a man who at the time was 47 years of age. This portrait encapsulates many important aspects of Dutch society and culture during the late 16th century. It provides insight into the prevailing social structures and values of the time. Van Swieten's clothing and the inclusion of his coat of arms indicate that he belongs to the upper class. This suggests a society defined by distinct social hierarchies, where the wealthy and powerful elite commissioned portraits to affirm their status. But it is Goltzius’s status as a leading printmaker, and the importance of printmaking as a medium for disseminating images and ideas that really captures the transformative institutional forces at play in this period. To understand this artwork fully, historians consult a range of resources – genealogical records, fashion studies, and art market analyses. The meaning of a portrait like this is always contingent on the subject’s social context and on the institutions that supported its production and circulation.