Portret van Felix Rotondi 1682

Martial Desbois made this portrait of Felix Rotondi sometime in the 17th century, using engraving. At the time, printmaking was becoming an increasingly important medium for disseminating information and images. Portraits like these served a specific social function. In this case, it presents Rotondi as a man of learning and piety. We know this from the inscription, which identifies him as a professor of theology, as well as from his religious garb and the crest below. Consider the role of the church as a patron of the arts, and the way religious orders cultivated particular images of themselves for public consumption. This portrait can tell us about the way the church leaders used images to convey power and prestige. To understand the context of this work more fully, it would be useful to research the religious order to which Rotondi belonged and the conventions of portraiture in the 17th century.