Portret van Gerard Hasselaar 1789

Reinier Vinkeles made this portrait of Gerard Hasselaar using etching, sometime in the late eighteenth century in the Netherlands. This print testifies to the enduring appeal of the Dutch Golden Age and the power of its imagery. Etchings like this one, widely available and relatively inexpensive, helped to maintain the cultural authority of the Dutch Republic's 17th-century elite long after its economic and political decline. The sitter's costume, especially the wide ruff, is a clear visual reference to the earlier period. The Rijksmuseum itself plays a key role in the story of Dutch cultural identity. Founded in the early 19th century, when the Netherlands was under French rule, it was conceived as a repository for national treasures and a means of defining Dutch history and culture. The historian can make use of sources such as periodicals, museum records and government archives to better understand the cultural and institutional forces that shaped both the making and the reception of this portrait.