Portret van C.F.J. Stevens 1822

This is Guillaume Philidor Van den Burggraaff's portrait of C.F.J. Stevens, created with engraving. It exists within a tradition of portraiture which typically served to immortalize the sitter and communicate their status. Looking at this portrait today, we might consider how access to such representation was often dictated by social standing, gender, and race. The subtle details of Stevens’s clothing and demeanor speak to a certain level of bourgeois respectability, reflecting the values of his time. The ability to own and commission art like this was part of solidifying one's position in society. So, while on the surface this is simply a portrait of a man, it also tells us something about the power structures of 19th-century Europe and how identity was carefully constructed and presented through visual means.