Portret van Augustin Leyser 1700 - 1749

Johann Friedrich Rosbach made this small portrait print of Augustinus Leyser. The details of Leyser’s costume, especially the elaborate wig, operate as visual cues of his elite status in the society of his time. Prints like this one, made in Germany, circulated images of important figures and ideas across Europe. Leyser held prestigious positions as a consistorial councilor, legal assessor, and professor. The Latin inscription below his image details his roles in the court and academy. What did it mean to have one’s likeness reproduced and distributed? What purposes did these images serve for their subjects? As a historian, I'd consider how the institutions of church, state, and academy shaped social status and how portraiture contributed to those processes. Careful research into the social functions of imagery helps us understand its cultural work.