Portret van Frans II Josef Karel, Rooms-Duits keizer 1783 - 1795

This is a print of Frans II Josef Karel, Holy Roman Emperor, made by Cornelis Bogerts. The print is in the formal style of the late 18th century, a period of revolutions, upheavals, and changing social structures. Emperors like Josef Karel would have been concerned with solidifying their power through portraits, which were a key means of communicating authority. Notice how the Emperor is portrayed in profile, like an ancient Roman ruler. Below the portrait is a display of symbols of power – crown, sceptre, and sword. This imagery and display of power would have reinforced the idea of a divinely sanctioned imperial system. However, by this time in Europe, ideas about inherited power were being challenged. To understand this image fully, a historian would need to research the social and political contexts in which it was made, examining the history of political imagery and its relationship to social power.