Portret van een onbekende vrouw, mogelijk Petronella van den Bergh 1831 - 1890

This engraving, held at the Rijksmuseum, is by Jean Baptiste Pierre Michiels who was working in the 19th century. The print depicts an unknown woman, possibly Petronella van den Bergh. During this period, portraiture served not only as a representation of an individual but also as a statement of social standing. Consider the woman’s headdress, adorned with flowers. While seemingly decorative, such details reflect the fashions and norms of bourgeois women of the time. Yet, what does it mean to represent an ‘unknown’ woman? The lack of specificity invites us to reflect on the countless unnamed figures who constitute the fabric of history. Michiels captures the woman with an almost startling directness, eschewing idealization in favor of a frank, unvarnished portrayal. What is her story? In granting her a space within the visual record, Michiels gestures towards the significance of every individual narrative.