Portret van Giovanni Boccaccio 1830

Bernard Romain Julien made this portrait of Giovanni Boccaccio using lithography sometime in the 19th century. The image depicts Boccaccio, a writer and poet of the 14th century Italian Renaissance. But what might this image of a Renaissance writer mean in 19th century Europe? The 19th century saw the rise of historicism, as history became institutionalized as an academic discipline. This interest in the past was reflected in art, literature, and politics, particularly in the construction of national identities. In France, where Julien was active, representations of key historical figures became ways of legitimizing contemporary political ideals. In that context, Boccaccio’s image could be seen to evoke ideas of the Renaissance: humanism, individualism, and a flourishing of art and culture that France would want to see itself as heir to. Examining the print archives and the records of institutions like the French Academy would give us a fuller sense of how this image might have circulated.