Portret van Johannes Reuter 1679

Herman Hendrik Quiter made this portrait of Johannes Reuter as an engraving. Reuter is framed in the print in an oval. He is portrayed as a powerful man, as is clear from his clothing and wig. These are visual codes associated with wealth and status in northern Europe. It is probable that this work was made in the Dutch Republic, perhaps commissioned by an institution in which Reuter was a figure of importance. The inscription at the bottom indicates that Reuter was a plenipotentiary, or representative, at the Treaty of Nijmegen. What does it mean to portray someone in this way, at this time? The images we create of important figures are always shaped by the cultures that produce them. To understand it fully, one could research the institutions and social circles in which both Reuter and Quiter operated. What political and social pressures were they responding to? How do such images reinforce or challenge the norms of their time?