Portret van Johann Gottlieb Heinecke 1735

Christian Fritzsch created this portrait of Johann Gottlieb Heinecke using etching techniques. The image presents us with a vision of 18th-century male authority and intellect. Heinecke, encased in an oval frame reminiscent of classical portraiture, appears every bit the accomplished legal scholar. Note how his elaborate wig and formal robes speak to the rigid social hierarchies of the era, where appearance was a direct signifier of status and education. This image, like many portraits of its time, served to reinforce a specific narrative of power, one that was largely the domain of white, educated men. Consider how this carefully constructed image might contrast with the lived realities of those excluded from such representation. While Heinecke's likeness is preserved for posterity, whose stories remain untold? Whose experiences are omitted from this carefully curated vision of society?