Portret van een vrouw, van voren 1830 - 1903

Jan Cornelis van Rossum made this portrait of a woman with graphite in the Netherlands sometime in the 19th century. This image embodies the restrained ideals of the bourgeois era. We can see this in the subject’s modest dress and simple hairstyle, which speaks to the values of the time: self-control and decorum. Though van Rossum worked in the Romantic style, his art did not dwell on dramatic scenes and instead favored portraits of ordinary Dutch citizens. The rise of the middle class in the Netherlands created a new market for art. Rather than depicting historical or mythological scenes for aristocratic patrons, artists now made portraits for a new class of art consumers. Art historians use museum archives, newspaper articles, and other historical sources to better understand the context in which art is made. By looking at art through this lens, we can begin to see how artistic styles are directly influenced by socio-economic factors.