Fotoreproductie van een gravure van een portret van Johanna van Oostenrijk door Jean-Marc Nattier, naar het schilderij door Peter Paul Rubens before 1864

This is a photographic reproduction of an engraving by Dechamps et Cie. The engraving is after a portrait of Johanna of Austria by Jean-Marc Nattier, which itself was based on a painting by Peter Paul Rubens. This reproductive chain is interesting. Rubens, a Flemish artist, painted Johanna, a member of the Austrian royal family, and his work was then reinterpreted by later French artists and printmakers. Consider the public role of art at this time. Portraiture was a way for the elite to display power, and the art market was reliant on reproducing and circulating these images. Engravings like this one allowed for wider dissemination of imagery, so one can imagine that it was originally produced for collectors or those who wished to keep up with images of prominent people. To understand the image better, scholars often consult archival materials, such as letters or inventories, to reconstruct the contexts in which such artworks were made and consumed. This reminds us that the meaning of art is contingent on its social and institutional context.