Portret van Friedrich Leopold graaf van Stolberg 1819 - 1830

Tobias Falke made this portrait of Friedrich Leopold, Count of Stolberg using etching, a printmaking technique. Likely made in Germany, the image captures the Count's likeness with careful detail. The portrait seems to float above us, emerging from a cloud. This visual code elevates Stolberg beyond the everyday, suggesting a man of prominence and perhaps even of elevated status. The print serves as a historical document, reflecting the social hierarchy of the time. The presence of such portraits underscores the importance of lineage and social standing in 18th and 19th century Europe. To fully understand this image, one might research the Count's biography, the artist's career, and the conventions of portraiture in that period. The print offers insight into how social roles were visualized and communicated. It is in such specific visual details that art offers its most enduring insights into society.