Vrouw uit Numidië 1620 - 1664

Stefano della Bella made this print, "Vrouw uit Numidië", or "Woman from Numidia," using etching techniques. Created in the 17th century, this image reflects the early modern European fascination with the "exotic." Numidia, corresponding to parts of modern Algeria and Tunisia, becomes a generalized "other," viewed through a lens of colonial desire and the era’s developing scientific understanding. The figure's clothing and adornments are likely based on second-hand accounts and artistic license rather than accurate ethnographic observation. The text below the image describes the region as a hot, arid, and sparsely populated "land of dates," reducing a complex society to simplistic terms. Prints like these served to inform and shape public perceptions of non-European cultures, thus contributing to the construction of racial and cultural hierarchies. Art historians examine such works alongside travel literature, colonial records, and scientific texts to unpack the complex power dynamics embedded within them.