Portret van Heinrich von und zum Velde 1665 - 1721

Christian Romstet made this portrait of Heinrich von und zum Velde with burin around the turn of the 18th century. This print, made in Leipzig, Germany, shows us the image of a member of the German nobility and acts as a window onto the hierarchical society of the Baroque era. The visual codes of the artwork, from the family crest to the elaborate costume, speak to Velde’s status and power. Leipzig, as a prominent urban center in the Holy Roman Empire, was also a site of artistic production deeply influenced by its relationship to the aristocracy. The inscriptions in the print, poetic verses in German, reinforce the idea of noble virtue and lineage that are often associated with this period. Art historians might research family records, local histories, or museum collections to understand Velde’s place within the context of his time. By looking at these materials, we begin to understand the social conditions that shaped artistic production and meaning in the German Baroque.