Portret van Armgaert Elisabeth van Dordt van Roosendaal 1624

This engraving by Magdalena van de Passe, made in the Netherlands in 1624, depicts Armgaert Elisabeth van Dordt van Roosendaal. Portraits like this operated within a complex social code. This image, with its Latin inscription noting Armgaert’s age, was likely commissioned to commemorate a betrothal. Note the family crest. The work speaks to the rigid hierarchies of Dutch society. The elaborate lace collar and pearl-trimmed dress announce the sitter’s elevated social status. Yet, the work also testifies to the changing role of women in the arts. Although women had limited access to formal training, artists like Van de Passe found professional success through printmaking, a field that allowed for workshop collaboration. To learn more, one might investigate Dutch family heraldry or the records of artists’ guilds. The careful work of historians can illuminate the social conditions that made this image, and Armgaert's carefully constructed identity, possible.