Portret van Johann Lorenz von Mosheim 1705 - 1755

Christian Fritzsch created this print of Johann Lorenz von Mosheim. Mosheim, who lived from 1693 to 1755, was a German Lutheran theologian and church historian, whose work reflected the intellectual ferment of the early Enlightenment. Note the visual codes that identify Mosheim’s high status. He wears an elaborate wig and clerical robes and is posed in front of draped curtains and an armorial shield. He gestures towards an open book, a signifier of his scholarship. This image was created in the German territories that would later become modern Germany. Here, debates about religion and the role of the church were central to political and intellectual life. Mosheim was a prominent figure in these debates. The University of Göttingen, where he taught, became a center for a new kind of critical historical scholarship. Prints like this one served to publicize the image of important scholars. They are invaluable resources for historians reconstructing the social and intellectual life of the 18th century. The study of such images is essential to understanding the public role of intellectuals and institutions.