Nicolaes van der Borght, Merchant of Antwerp 1635

Anthony van Dyck painted this oil on canvas portrait of Nicolaes van der Borght, a merchant from Antwerp, sometime in the 17th century. Here, Van Dyck is working within a long tradition of mercantile portraiture, one that is inflected with the changing social conditions of the time. Note the way van der Borght is positioned, overlooking the harbor, connecting him with his livelihood as a merchant in Antwerp. The city was an important port at this time, and it was home to a thriving mercantile culture. Van Dyck, having spent time in Italy, has a strong grasp of the visual codes for depicting aristocracy, which he skillfully extends here to the merchant class. Note the heraldic symbols, suggesting the family’s social status. In this way, the image tells us a lot about the rising merchant class in Antwerp and the importance of trade to the city’s economy, but to understand it better, one might want to research the history of Antwerp as a center of trade or study family heraldry. Art historians consider these aspects in order to fully contextualize the art of the past.