Portret van Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie in Beieren 1827 - 1894

Henri Hendrickx made this print of Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie in Beieren sometime in the mid-19th century. It is a hand-colored lithograph, a relatively new technology at the time. The print depicts a young royal figure in a landscape setting. We can understand it as an artifact of a society deeply invested in images of its leaders. The image speaks to the social and political function of royal portraiture, in an era when European monarchies were attempting to balance tradition with modernizing forces. Hendrickx’s print also reflects the hierarchies of the art world. Lithography allowed for mass production, creating a more accessible, less exclusive image than a painting. To further our understanding of this work, we might ask: What role did printed images play in shaping public perceptions of royalty? How did institutions like printmaking workshops contribute to the circulation of these images? We can use institutional records, newspapers, and other archival documents to find out more.