Portret van Martin Grulich 1730 - 1802

Johann Christian Gottfried Fritzsch created this print of Martin Grulich using etching in the eighteenth century. Grulich looks out at us, framed by an oval that sits on a small plinth. Born in what is now Poland, Grulich was a professor of law in Frankfurt an der Oder, which at the time was a major center of education and commerce in Brandenburg-Prussia. The Latin text on the plinth tells us that the engraver—Fritzsch himself—struggled to capture Grulich’s face, an appropriate sentiment considering the importance of one’s public image in the eighteenth century. In fact, the visual codes of the image, from the sitter's clerical attire to the elaborate wig, emphasize Grulich’s status as an educated and respected man. Prints like this one were often made to circulate among an intellectual elite. As art historians, we look to visual culture to better understand the social and institutional contexts that shaped the era.