Titelpagina voor "Het Complete gegraveerde Werck door Reijnier Vinkeles, meest Proef, en veele Etsdrukken, 1ste Deel, Titels, Medaillons, Wapens, Vignetten" 1751 - 1816

Reinier Vinkeles created this title page for his collected engravings, etchings, and proofs in the Netherlands. Without a date, we can only guess it was made sometime between 1760 and 1810. The image is framed by symbols of artistic labor – brushes, drawing instruments, musical instruments, and what appear to be examples of Vinkeles’ works themselves. This was a period when the status of the artist was being renegotiated, as the old guild system gave way to academies and other kinds of professional institutions. Title pages like this could function as advertisements for an artist, but they also made claims about the social value of art itself. By displaying his tools and accomplishments in such a formal way, Vinkeles elevates his profession. To understand the significance of this image, one might look at the records of art academies or collections of artists' self-portraits. These kinds of sources reveal the changing role of the artist in Dutch society during this time.