Portret van Giuseppe de Brambilla 1779 - 1796

This is Johann Ernst Mansfeld’s “Portret van Giuseppe de Brambilla,” made circa 1779. The print depicts a man framed by laurel wreaths and text reading “The best of fathers.” Prints like this, made during the Enlightenment, were often commissioned by the bourgeois class, to signal a shift in ideals. While portraits were typically reserved for royalty and aristocracy, with the rise of the middle class, there was a growing desire to represent personal and familial virtue. This engraving reflects the changing social values of the late 18th century, where the idea of the ‘virtuous citizen’ began to take precedence. The inscription celebrates Brambilla as the ideal father, an important patriarch. Yet, consider the absence of the women who made his lineage possible. This piece exemplifies a particular form of historical visibility, celebrating the role of men in the domestic sphere, while obscuring the contributions and identities of women.