Portret van Christoph Friedrich Ammon 1818 - 1823

Friedrich Wilhelm Bollinger created this print of Christoph Friedrich Ammon using etching and possibly other techniques. Bollinger’s work offers a window into the visual culture of Germany, at a time of intellectual and political ferment. Portraits like this one served a crucial social function, solidifying the status of individuals within their communities. The carefully rendered likeness and the inscription below, identifying Ammon as a “chief court preacher”, speak to the importance of religious figures in the social hierarchy. Prints circulated widely, making images accessible to a broad public. Institutions like the church and the court gained visibility and legitimacy through these reproductions. To fully understand this work, we can turn to sources from the period – letters, sermons, and other printed materials – that shed light on the social and religious climate in which it was produced. Art history is about understanding the role of images within a specific context.