Portret van een priester 1830 - 1880

Adolphe Mouilleron made this print, titled "Portret van een priester", in the 19th century. It depicts a priest holding a book. The image itself is quite simple but its historical context raises fascinating questions. France in the 19th century was a place of immense social change, defined by the decline of the aristocracy and the rise of a new middle class. What would it mean to be a priest at such a time? As the church lost its traditional grip on society, its members would have had to renegotiate their place in a changing world. Did this priest seek to reaffirm tradition? Or did he preach a more progressive gospel? In understanding the meaning of the print, the historian can turn to sources from the period, such as newspapers and pamphlets, to understand how people saw the church at the time. The meaning of art, after all, is contingent on its social and institutional context.