Portret van Sophie van Württemberg 1849 - 1871

Friedrich Schapper made this print of Sophie of Württemberg sometime in the 19th century. The image speaks to a rigid social hierarchy and the importance of aristocratic lineage in the European monarchies of the time. Sophie, adorned with a crown and jewels, is presented as a figure of wealth and power. The very act of commissioning and displaying such a portrait reinforces the social status of both the subject and the artist. The inclusion of her coat of arms at the bottom makes it clear that her identity is inseparable from her noble family. It is interesting to think about how the print medium democratized images like these to a certain extent, making them more widely accessible, but also how it was deployed to reinforce the power of elite institutions. To understand the full context of this image, we might look to archival records and historical texts that document the social and political conditions in Europe at the time. It is through this type of research that the true social function of images like these becomes clear.