Portretten van Hans von Aachen, Pieter Brueghel II en Jan Brueghel I 1764

This undated print, made by Jan l'Admiral, portrays Hans von Aachen, Pieter Brueghel II, and Jan Brueghel I. The stark monochrome and intricate hatching immediately draw the eye. Admiral's composition, presenting three artists through layered portraits, prompts a reading of the visual field as a complex network of representation. The use of frames and the scroll creates a mise-en-abyme, destabilizing the relationship between the subject and its representation. We see portraits within portraits, questioning the authenticity and immediacy of the image. The linear precision suggests a desire to categorize and preserve, yet the overlapping forms hint at the fluidity of artistic legacy. The print’s structure, with its numbered sequence, invites semiotic analysis, as each portrait functions as a signifier within a larger cultural code of artistic identity. This layered approach underscores how artistic interpretation is never fixed, but constantly evolving through historical and cultural lenses.