Portret van de predikant Heinrich Pipping 1670 - 1713

Pieter Schenk produced this print of Heinrich Pipping sometime between 1660 and 1711. As with other reproductive prints from this time, its existence reflects the increasing commercialisation of art and the growing importance of portraiture as a means of advertising social status. This image deploys visual codes which tell us a lot about the sitter. Pipping’s presentation conforms to certain expectations for a deacon in Northern Europe at this time. The formal attire and carefully arranged wig mark him as a figure of substance within his community. His confident but gentle expression suggests an upstanding moral character. Prints like this one can tell us about the increasing social importance of religious figures in the late 17th and early 18th Century. In order to understand this work more fully, we might turn to church records and other historical documents to more fully understand Pipping’s impact on his community. These sources help us understand how institutions shape the production and reception of art.