Portret van Friedrich Hoffmann 1734

Martin Bernigeroth created this print of Friedrich Hoffmann, a physician and professor, using engraving techniques. Hoffmann's elaborate wig and formal attire speak to the rigid social hierarchies of the 17th and 18th centuries, where appearance was paramount for signaling status and authority. As a man of science and medicine, Hoffmann operated within a world that was just beginning to embrace empirical methods, yet was still deeply entwined with older traditions. Bernigeroth's portrait captures Hoffmann's participation in networks of power and knowledge. It reflects the complex negotiations of identity that were part of the project of being a learned man during this period. Bernigeroth provides us with a window into the construction of identity and the performance of status.