Vrouw uit Friesland after 1694

Pieter van den Berge made this print of a Frisian woman, or "Vrouw uit Friesland" in Dutch, using etching techniques sometime between 1675 and 1737. It is now held in the Rijksmuseum. In this period, the Dutch Republic experienced a golden age of economic and cultural power. Prints like these, mass produced and widely circulated, offered a window into the customs and costumes of different regions within the Republic. Here, the woman's distinctive dress and the presence of a young boy beside her immediately signal her regional identity. The artist likely drew on popular fascination with local traditions to appeal to a broad audience, reinforcing ideas about regional identity and cultural difference within the Netherlands. Looking at historical sources helps us understand how prints like these shaped perceptions of regional identities. This print also highlights the role of institutions like museums in preserving and interpreting such visual representations of the past.