Portret van Christian Friedrich Eichhorn 1823

Ludwig Emil Grimm created this print of Christian Friedrich Eichhorn in Germany, at a time when the country’s universities were becoming centers of intellectual life. Eichhorn was a prominent jurist and professor, and here he is depicted in a conventional, academic style, with a book in hand to signify his scholarship. The print suggests the importance of the individual within German society and reveals a social system where academics and intellectuals held positions of respect and influence. Consider the institutional history here: How did the German university system of the 1800s cultivate a particular kind of intellectual and social life? What role did printed portraits play in the construction of fame and authority? To answer these questions, we can consult archives, biographies, and publications from the period. Art gives us a glimpse into the values of a specific time, but its meaning is always shaped by its social and institutional context.