Mansportret in medaillon omgeven door allegorische figuren 1725 - 1770

Gottfried Eichler the Younger made this washed pen and ink drawing, *Man's Portrait in a Medallion Surrounded by Allegorical Figures*, sometime in the mid-18th century. The formal language of allegory and classical reference was still very much in use in the German lands. The imagery makes explicit the power of the sitter, a powerful man who must have had ties to the arts. But more than this, the drawing provides insight into the cultural values of the time. The image speaks to the premium placed on representing power and patronage through the allegorical mode, which could provide rulers with a veneer of classical authority. It would be interesting to find out more about the man in the portrait, and what institutions he was connected with. What this drawing tells us most clearly is that art in this period was still very much tethered to aristocratic patronage and to the established codes for representing their world view. We need to look beyond the visual qualities of art alone, and investigate the economic and social contexts.