Portret van Johann Dietelmaier c. 1648 - 1663

This engraving, made by Johann Pfann in Nuremberg, Germany, presents Johann Dietelmaier at age 39. Images like these played a key role in shaping social status in the early modern period. Note the Latin inscription and the architectural image below the portrait. These visual codes signal Dietelmaier’s membership within a specific community of humanist scholars. Nuremberg was then a center of the German Renaissance, a hub of commerce, humanism, and the printing press. Printed portraits were increasingly important for celebrating individuals, reinforcing social hierarchies, and creating networks of association, especially among learned elites. Pfann was a prolific printmaker who worked in this thriving market. To fully understand this image, we might research the history of printing, the structures of patronage, and the circulation of humanist ideas. Only through a careful study of the social and institutional context can we grasp the full meaning of this portrait.