Portret van Matthias Hoë von Hoënegg 1729

This is Johann Benjamin Brühl’s portrait of Matthias Hoë von Hoënegg, made using etching techniques. Though undated, this print likely originated in the first half of the 1700s. In this portrait, we see Hoë von Hoënegg, a figure of considerable social standing as a doctor of theology. Portraits of prominent figures such as Hoë von Hoënegg reinforced existing social hierarchies, presenting models of ideal status and respectability. What might such an image tell us about the institutional history of theology in the 18th century? How did the institutions of the church shape the subjectivities of individuals? To understand this image more deeply, one would have to research the history of the church in the region as well as the biographies of both the sitter and the artist. The meaning of the image is thus contingent on a web of cultural and institutional contexts.