Portret van Nicolaus Rodriguez Fermosino 1673 - 1740

Johann Georg Seiller made this print of Nicolaus Rodriguez Fermosino, an important Spanish bishop and official of the Inquisition. But what exactly was the social role of such an image in its time? The print dates from the late 17th or early 18th century. Note the visual cues that tell us about Fermosino's position in society: his clerical garments, the crucifix on the table, the inscription telling of his high office, and the coat-of-arms at the bottom, an emblem of family status. This image was designed to declare the subject's power. It shows us the institutions and practices that shaped the social world of 18th-century Spain. As a historian, I look to archives and libraries to learn more about the image. Prints like this served to reinforce the prevailing religious and social hierarchies of their time, and the tools of social history can help us understand the values they served.