Portret van Gerard de Jode 1624 - 1679

This is an engraving of Gerard de Jode, a 16th-century cartographer and printmaker based in Antwerp, though the artist is unknown. The portrait gives us insight into the world of Northern European printmaking, a burgeoning industry at the time. De Jode’s profession places him within a network of artists, publishers, and merchants who profited from the increasing demand for printed images and maps. We see him here pointing to a map in a book; above him on the left we can observe his coat of arms, suggesting his social status. This image underscores the increasing importance of visual communication and the power of printed images to disseminate knowledge and shape public perceptions of the world. Cartography at this time was as much an art as it was a science, and we can see this in the image’s careful construction. To understand the significance of this portrait, scholars might consult archival records of printmakers' guilds, trade inventories, and examples of De Jode's cartographic work. These resources help us understand the social and institutional contexts of artistic production in the 16th century.