Portret van Johann Samuel Adami 1675 - 1748

Editor: This is "Portrait of Johann Samuel Adami," made sometime between 1675 and 1748 by Moritz Bodenehr. It's an engraving, so a print, and currently resides in the Rijksmuseum. There's something so… serious about him. A man of importance. What stands out to you? Curator: What I notice first is how this portrait serves to solidify Adami's position within a specific intellectual and social sphere. Consider the context: the rise of printmaking allowed for wider dissemination of images. What does it mean to create and circulate a portrait like this? Editor: To show him off? To cement his legacy? Curator: Exactly. Portraits were – and still are – powerful tools of representation. Think about the details: his clothing, the book, even the text beneath the image identifying him. How do these contribute to constructing a particular image of Adami for the public? What type of values would be at play here? Editor: The book definitely gives him a scholarly air, right? Like he's a learned man, someone of great intellect. The clothing suggests status too, though I can't quite place what profession it's hinting at. Curator: Precisely. These are conscious choices to align Adami with the values of learning, authority, and perhaps even piety depending on the content of the book he holds. The circulation of this image, made possible by printmaking, extends that projection far beyond Adami's immediate circle. And do consider that portraiture at this time was a visual means of constructing a person’s identity that served specific socio-political agendas. Editor: So it's less about what he *actually* was like and more about what people wanted him to *represent*? That’s quite the eye-opener, and perhaps the reality of all forms of historical representation. Curator: It’s definitely a perspective that gives pause to the ways of constructing both our public and private roles. It highlights the layers of social significance embedded within this portrait.