Lezende vrouw met hond c. 1650 - 1700

Frederick Bloemaert created this print of a woman reading with a dog in the Netherlands, sometime in the mid-17th century. It presents us with a curious combination of the everyday and the aspirational. In its time, literacy was a highly classed privilege, often associated with religious devotion. Books were expensive objects, and images of people reading could function as signs of wealth and status. We can see this at play here, in the contrast between the woman’s simple dress and the fact that she has access to education and leisure. The dog, a common symbol of loyalty, perhaps emphasizes the woman’s domestic virtue, a key concern for Dutch society at the time. The image creates meaning through visual codes and cultural references that would have been easily understood by its contemporary audience. As art historians, we can consult sources like probate records and conduct book history research, to build a deeper understanding of the social context in which images like this were created and consumed.