Portretten van twee onbekende vrouwen, beiden als herderin 1640

Crispijn van de Passe II created this print of two unknown women as shepherdesses. Set against the backdrop of the Dutch Golden Age, this work engages with the era's fascination with pastoral themes, blending classical ideals with contemporary portraiture. At first glance, the women, adorned with floral wreaths and holding staffs, seem to embody an idealized vision of femininity. However, their elaborate attire and the formality of the portraits suggest a more complex narrative, hinting at the intersection of class, identity, and representation in 17th-century Dutch society. Who were these women, and what was their relationship to the artist and to each other? Were they playing roles for the artist or acting out their own desires? The shepherdess trope allowed women to be represented as both sensual and virtuous. I can’t help but think that in their gaze there is a challenge to the viewer to reckon with the real women behind the fiction.