Portret van Nikolaus Ludwig Graf von Zinzendorf 1741

Christian Fritzsch created this print of Nikolaus Ludwig Graf von Zinzendorf using engraving. The work commemorates a figure who was a major social and religious force in the Holy Roman Empire. Zinzendorf was a theologian and bishop, and here he’s portrayed with the markers of those offices. The stone tablet and Latin inscription beneath the portrait lend him an air of classical authority. He’s depicted as a man of the cloth, but also as a nobleman. The Holy Roman Empire was not known for its religious tolerance, so Zinzendorf was quite radical. He founded a Protestant sect called the Moravian Church, which emphasized individual piety. The Moravians established settlements that functioned as utopian communities. By looking at sources from the Moravian Church we can begin to get a clearer sense of the image that Zinzendorf wanted to project to the world. Historical interpretation reveals the connection between art, identity, and belief.