Portret van een onbekende prelaat 1840 - 1905

François de Meersman made this portrait of an unknown prelate using graphite, sometime in the 19th century in Belgium. The Catholic Church had a complicated relationship with Belgium in the 19th century. On the one hand, Catholicism was central to Belgian national identity, particularly as a way of distinguishing itself from its Protestant Dutch neighbors. On the other hand, there was an ongoing tension between the Church's authority and the liberal, secularizing tendencies of the Belgian state. Portraits like this one were important for establishing and reinforcing the Church's authority, but also its cultural role in society. The prelate’s cross is prominently displayed, a visual marker of his authority. The very act of creating and displaying this portrait is an assertion of the Church's place in Belgian society. To understand it better, we might research the biographies of prominent Belgian prelates from the 19th century, to see if we can identify the sitter.