Portretten van twee onbekende hooggeplaatste vrouwen, beiden als herderin 1640

Crispijn van de Passe the Younger created this engraving of two portraits of unknown high-ranking women as shepherdesses. The ovals encasing the women's portraits, while neatly framing their figures, also serve to isolate and elevate them. Notice how van de Passe employs the conventions of pastoral portraiture, using visual cues to signal an idealised vision of rural life. The women’s elaborate clothing and jewelry sharply contrast with the humble attire typically associated with shepherdesses. This contrast establishes a semiotic tension, destabilizing fixed meanings, values and social categories. The semiotic system employed here challenges the viewer to reconcile the symbolic meanings of the subjects' social status and their deliberate association with pastoral simplicity. This engraving functions as a commentary on the performative nature of identity and the fluid boundaries between social roles and constructed personas. It suggests a sophisticated engagement with the cultural codes of the time.