Portret van Famiano Strada op 78-jarige leeftijd 1731 - 1780

Anton Tischler created this print of Famiano Strada, a Jesuit scholar, in Rome. Though the exact date is not provided, the inscription tells us it was made around the time of Strada’s death in 1649, aged 78. The image operates within the well-established visual codes of religious portraiture. The ornate frame and Latin inscription lends the print the gravity befitting a man of Strada's standing. The date of death inscribed below transforms the portrait into a kind of memorial. But it is also an institutional portrait, meant to circulate among other Jesuits, reminding them of Strada's service to the order. Strada was a well-known historian, poet, and professor of rhetoric at the Jesuit College in Rome. The printing press played a crucial role in the dissemination of Jesuit thought during this period. Prints like this one remind us of the way religious orders and other institutions shaped artistic production in the 17th Century. By consulting archives and libraries, we can learn more about the artistic and intellectual output of the Jesuit order during this period and how this print contributed to Strada’s memory and legacy.