Reproductie van een gravure van een portret van Anthonis Mor door Hendrick Hondius before 1877

Joseph Maes created this reproduction of a portrait engraving of Anthonis Mor by Hendrick Hondius at an unknown date. In it we see an artist, presumably Anthonis Mor, painting a portrait. The engraving gives us insight into the cultural status of the artist during the Dutch Golden Age. Artists like Mor were becoming increasingly celebrated figures, moving away from the social status of craftsmen and towards that of intellectuals, and this image serves as a record of that changing status. It marks the emergence of the artist as a public figure. To understand such an image, art historians might consult period biographies, auction records, and other documentary evidence to understand the changing social status of artists. Ultimately, the meaning of this image is tied to the social and institutional context in which it was made and consumed.