Nicolas Catinat, Maréchal de France 

This print, created by L. Roger between 1719 and 1835, depicts Nicolas Catinat, a Marshal of France, framed within an oval. The most striking element is Catinat's elaborate wig, a symbol of status and power in his time. The wig, however, is more than mere fashion. Consider its roots. Hair has long been laden with symbolic weight, from Samson's strength to the tonsured heads of monks. The Baroque wig is a secular echo of these ancient traditions, a manufactured mane signifying virility and authority. Its cascading curls find resonance in earlier depictions of river gods or even the flowing locks of classical heroes. It's as if Catinat appropriates these mythic qualities, presenting himself as a force of nature tamed and harnessed for the French state. This carefully constructed image speaks to the enduring human need to project power through symbolic adornment, a motif that persists throughout the ages, in various forms.