Richard Wagner 1829 - 1899

H.P. Hansen created this print of Richard Wagner using engraving, sometime before the artist's death in 1899. Wagner was, of course, the controversial composer whose operas became closely associated with German nationalism. The image presents Wagner as a figure of cultivated genius, complete with velvet beret and foppish cravat. It's an image designed for mass consumption, part of the burgeoning market for celebrity portraits made possible by advances in print technology and distribution. The image creates meaning through visual codes and historical associations. Looking at the composer’s image through a historian’s lens encourages us to question how Wagner, and his music, were turned into a cultural commodity. Catalogues and concert programs of the period might tell us more, as would a study of Wagner's own writings on the role of art and the artist in modern society. The meaning of this image resides not just in its aesthetic qualities, but in its role within a complex network of social and cultural forces.