Portret van Frans Lodewijk van Bourbon-Conti 1825 - 1845

Pamela Dautel created this portrait of Frans Lodewijk van Bourbon-Conti using printmaking techniques. Portraits of aristocrats like Frans Lodewijk reinforced a rigid social hierarchy. The portraits were designed to impress upon you the subject's wealth, power, and lineage. We must then consider what it means to have this portrait created by a woman. How might her position in society shape her approach to the artistic process? While Dautel worked within the established genre of aristocratic portraiture, she might subtly subvert traditional representation by offering a more nuanced portrayal of her subject's character. The emotional resonance of this image goes beyond mere representation. It invites us to consider the complexities inherent in portraying individuals who occupy positions of power and privilege, and invites us to question the narratives of power and privilege that these images uphold.