Portret van Franz Balthasar Schönberg von Brenkenhoff 1761 - 1789

This is Carl Christian Glassbach’s portrait of Franz Balthasar Schönberg von Brenkenhoff, rendered as an etching. The composition is dominated by an oval frame encircling the portrait, immediately drawing our attention to the subject. This frame, adorned with a ribbon at the top and a coat of arms below, functions as a structured border, typical of formal portraiture, to contain and present its subject within a defined social context. The subject is further stabilized and made to mean something specific. Glassbach’s choice of etching, with its capacity for fine, controlled lines, allows for a detailed depiction of textures and facial features. The meticulous line work builds up tonal contrasts that model the face and clothing, giving a tactile quality to the image. Such detail emphasizes realism and perhaps alludes to Enlightenment values of precision and observation. This etching not only captures a likeness but also encodes a network of social and cultural meanings about status, identity, and the representation of self.