Charles de Bouques 1600 - 1688

Claude Mellan made this engraving of Charles de Bouques, a lawyer, in France. The image shows a man of status. Mellan used the conventions of portraiture to signal Bouques’s place in society, employing visual codes of dress, pose, and heraldry. Engravings like this one played a crucial role in early modern Europe. As ways of reproducing images became more sophisticated, the printing press became a vital tool for circulating knowledge, political opinions, and cultural values. This portrait testifies to the institutional history of law. Bouques is presented as a learned man, which speaks to the humanist ideals that shaped legal education. Understanding an artwork like this requires historical detective work. We turn to sources such as legal documents and social histories to understand the world in which it was made. This helps us understand art's public role.