Portret van Aleksandr Iwanowitsch, graaf Ostermann-Tolstoj 1775 - 1840

This is Ernst Ludwig Riepenhausen’s small engraving of Aleksandr Iwanowitsch, graaf Ostermann-Tolstoj, made in the late 18th or early 19th century. Portraits of the aristocracy served a vital social function at this time. Consider the visual codes of class and power on display here. The trappings of rank and military service, the carefully styled hair, and the stern gaze all contribute to an image of elite masculinity. This would have circulated in a world of salons and court life, reinforcing existing social hierarchies. Looking at the image today, we can ask how such images shape our understanding of history. Whose stories get told? Whose faces are preserved? The historian turns to letters, diaries, and other archives to reconstruct the world that this image once inhabited, and to understand the social conditions that made it meaningful. By doing so, we can appreciate the power of images to uphold—or challenge—the status quo.