Portret van Jan Rokycana 1680 - 1733

Martin Bernigeroth made this print of Jan Rokycana sometime around the early 18th century. Rokycana was a 15th-century Archbishop of Prague who was a key figure in the Hussite movement, a Czech religious reform movement that pre-dated the reformation. Bernigeroth made this print at a time when the cultural memory of the reformation was undergoing major revision. The institutionalisation of art training, through academies and workshops, resulted in an artistic landscape in which history painting was becoming increasingly popular and artists often looked to the reformation for subjects. Bernigeroth’s print participates in this movement, but we should remember that it does so selectively. Here, the archbishop is clean shaven and dressed in formal attire. This image is a far cry from the real religious and political struggles of the reformation. To understand this piece better, scholars might look to religious archives and histories of the reformation in Europe. By understanding the social and institutional context of this piece, we can more fully understand its role in shaping cultural memory.