Portret van Jean Baptiste de la Cour 1748

Etienne Ficquet created this portrait of Jean Baptiste de la Cour using etching and engraving techniques. This portrait, like many from the period, offers a window into the rigid structures of 18th-century French society. Jean Baptiste de la Cour's identity is carefully constructed through symbols of status, from his powdered wig to his ornate jacket. These details speak volumes about the importance of social standing during the Enlightenment. However, portraits can also give us insight into the real person. While the portrait emphasizes the subject's external markers of identity, can we glean something of his internal life, his ambitions, or his fears? Consider how the portrait's carefully constructed image both reflected and reinforced the social hierarchies of its time, while also hinting at the individual who existed beneath the surface.