Portret van Lüder Mencke 1715

This engraving portrays Lüder Mencke, a prominent legal figure of his time, and was created by Martin Bernigeroth in the late 17th or early 18th century. Bernigeroth captures Mencke within the visual rhetoric of power, from the elaborate wig signaling status to the Latin inscription detailing his titles. This image operates within a society deeply stratified by class, where access to education and positions of authority were closely guarded. It invites us to consider how identity was constructed and performed through visual symbols and how these images upheld existing social hierarchies. The portrait speaks not only to Mencke's individual identity but also to the broader structures of power in which he was embedded. It serves as a reminder of the complex ways in which art can both reflect and shape our understanding of history and ourselves.