Portret van Charles II de Bourbon 1822

Johann Nepomuk Strixner created this print titled "Portret van Charles II de Bourbon," sometime before his death in 1855. As an artist working in 19th-century Europe, Strixner was part of a robust printmaking industry. This particular print reproduces an earlier painting. The visual codes, such as the subject's dress and the religious gestures, associate the image with the medieval era. What, then, was Strixner trying to say by recreating this image? At the time, many European countries were struggling with questions of nationalism and identity. By reproducing this portrait of Charles II de Bourbon, Strixner was able to engage with a sense of history and cultural memory. It also invited the viewer to reflect on the role of portraiture in shaping individual and collective identities. Historians looking at images like this one often make use of resources that show the print’s production and reception. By understanding the social and institutional context, we come to see that the meaning of art is always contingent.