Portret van Johanna Sieber 1665 - 1721

This engraving of Johanna Sieber was made by Christian Romstet sometime between the late 17th and early 18th centuries. What we see here is a classic example of Baroque portraiture, adapted to the conventions of printmaking. Romstet’s print is more than a simple likeness. Set within an elaborate, garlanded frame and accompanied by weeping cherubs and pious verse, it’s a visual statement about the sitter’s social status and moral character. The text that accompanies it suggests how people should see her. The institutions of family and faith are clearly structuring social life in Saxony at this time. It's worth noting, though, that the inscription emphasizes Sieber's individual virtues, not just her family connections. To understand the full picture here, we’d need to examine the social history of Saxony, as well as the conventions of portraiture and printmaking in this period. Only then can we start to untangle the complex web of social, cultural, and institutional forces that shaped this image and its meaning.