Portret van Johannes Theodoor Buys 1893

Jan Veth made this print of Johannes Theodoor Buys using etching in the Netherlands in 1893. It commemorates his death. Buys was a professor of law at the University of Leiden, an institution with a long and important history in Dutch society. The print’s formal qualities, with its strong emphasis on line and careful attention to detail, mark it as part of the revival of printmaking that occurred at the end of the 19th century. The framing of the image, with its Latin inscription, lends the portrait a classical air, associating Buys with a tradition of scholarship and intellectualism. The choice of Latin is interesting, as it suggests an audience of educated elites. To truly understand a work like this, we need to delve into the archives and libraries. By studying the history of the University of Leiden and the career of Johannes Theodoor Buys, we can understand the print not just as a work of art, but as a cultural and historical document.