Portret van een onbekende man 1785 - 1858

Friedrich Rossmässler made this print of an unknown man in the early 19th century. But this isn’t just any man: the Greek inscription identifies him as Hector, the Trojan hero from Homer’s *Iliad*. The print speaks to the 19th-century vogue for all things Greek and Roman. It shows an idealised man in profile, framed by classical motifs, and printed for circulation to a wide audience. It reflects the cultural dominance of antiquity. We can consider its status as an object of learning. It evokes not only the world of the heroes, but also of the art academy. Prints like these were very important in the 19th century, because they served as a reference point for many artists. To understand Rossmässler’s choices, we can turn to archives, books, and other printed matter of the time. These shed light on the social conditions that shaped artistic production. By doing so, we see the image not as a mirror of reality, but as a product of specific institutions.