Portret van John Adams 1790

This engraving of John Adams was made by Reinier Vinkeles, probably in the late 18th century. Adams served as the American envoy to the Netherlands during the Revolutionary War, seeking recognition and financial support. Vinkeles, working in the Dutch Republic, would have wanted to represent Adams in a way that was both recognizable and symbolic of his status. The trappings of classical art and the symbols of enlightenment, with the book and the laurel, serve to give Adams's republican project an aura of stability and legitimacy. The engraving suggests how the Dutch, as fellow republicans who had once overthrown a monarchy themselves, might view the American struggle for independence. To better understand this image, we might research the history of Dutch-American relations, the visual culture of the Dutch Republic, and the symbolic language of 18th-century portraiture. The meaning of this artwork is contingent on the social and institutional contexts in which it was made and received.