Album met portretten van paus Innocentius XI, paus Clemens X en zesentachtig kardinalen 1658 - 1691

This is an album, likely from the late 17th century, containing portrait prints by the French artist François Andriot. It features Pope Innocent XI, Pope Clement X, and eighty-six cardinals, and it gives us insight into the world of the Catholic Church. Made in an era when the printing press allowed images to circulate widely, this album speaks to the politics of imagery. In this period, the Church used visual media to project power and authority. Portraiture was a key tool in this, conveying status and reinforcing the hierarchical structure of the Church. The portraits would have been based on existing images, demonstrating the cultural and political importance of Rome as the center of the Catholic world. Understanding this album requires us to consider the religious and political context of the time. We might ask, for instance, how the papacy was asserting its authority, and what role visual representation played in this project. Such research reminds us that art's meaning is always contingent on its social and institutional context.