Medaille met het portret van Ulrika Eleonora en tegenzijde 1705 - 1769

Christian Fritzsch created this print of a medal portraying Ulrika Eleonora in the 18th century. As a print, it offers insight into the politics of imagery and social conditions that shape artistic production in early modern Europe. On one side, we see the Queen in profile, surrounded by Latin text. On the other side, there’s an allegorical scene with a comet, and more Latin text. The medal reflects Ulrika Eleonora's reign. As Queen of Sweden, she was instrumental in ending the Great Northern War, which had a major impact on the geopolitics of the region. Medals like this one served to publicly broadcast royal power, but also could allude to specific events such as treaty signings. If we wanted to understand this image better, we would need to delve into resources on the history of Sweden in the 1700s, and the visual culture of royal power in Europe. Art helps us to understand its social and institutional context.