Portret van Johannes Beukelman 1751 - 1774

Pieter Anthony Wakkerdak made this portrait of Johannes Beukelman in the mid-18th century. It is an etching on paper. Consider the culture of the Dutch Republic at this time. The Dutch Golden Age had passed, and the nation was dealing with internal political divisions, social stratification, and economic challenges, but it remained a major center of global trade and finance. The etching reproduces a formal portrait, likely a painting, of a man of substance, and we can see the visual codes of status in his dress and presentation. This is a person of standing in Dutch society, of a certain social class. Wakkerdak’s portrait testifies to the continued importance of portraiture to the social and economic elites of the time. The historian brings various resources to bear on its interpretation. We can research the biographies of both artist and sitter, the printmaking industry of the period, and the social function of portraiture at the time. This will deepen our understanding of the image.