Portret van François-Joseph Fétis 1831

Jean-Baptiste Madou created this print, “Portret van François-Joseph Fétis”, at an unknown date. It captures the image of François-Joseph Fétis, a prominent figure in the 19th-century music scene. Consider the cultural context of this portrait. Fétis, as a musicologist and composer, navigated a world where artistic expression was deeply intertwined with social status. His rise in prominence reflects the burgeoning interest in classical music among the European elite. Madou, in turn, immortalizes Fétis through the medium of lithography, a relatively new technology that democratized image production. Think about the ways identity is constructed and communicated through portraiture. Fétis's stern gaze and formal attire speak to a desire for respectability and intellectual authority. The portrait presents us with a tension between public persona and private self. It asks us to contemplate how individuals fashion their identities within the confines of societal expectations.