Portret van Christiane Lucia aus dem Winckel

This is Martin Bernigeroth's engraving of Christiane Lucia aus dem Winckel. Bernigeroth made this print during a time of rigid social structures, and it tells us a lot about how women of Christiane’s class were expected to present themselves. The oval frame around Christiane’s portrait is almost like a looking glass. The woman shown here seems both present and distant, both real and idealized. We see symbols of wealth and status – the elaborate dress, the family crest. Below her portrait, there is an allegorical figure of a woman writing music; perhaps, Christiane herself was a composer, although she is primarily remembered in relation to the men she married. The inscription tells us that she was born in 1680 and died in 1723. The print is a testament to her life.