Portret van Georg Emerich 1675 - 1748

This is Moritz Bodenehr’s portrait of Georg Emerich, made around the late 17th to early 18th century. Note the ornate coat of arms beneath the portrait, a symbol that anchors Emerich in a lineage of power and status. The coat of arms reminds us of similar heraldic emblems across Europe, which served as visual declarations of family identity. Consider how in medieval tapestries and Renaissance paintings, coats of arms were woven and painted to affirm noble status. The symbols found in these coats of arms – lions, eagles, crosses – weren't merely decorative; they were intended to evoke the virtues and histories of the families they represented. Interestingly, the idea of inheriting symbolic power isn’t confined to European nobility. In ancient Egypt, pharaohs were depicted with specific headdresses and scepters to signal their divine right to rule. These symbols, like the European coats of arms, tapped into a collective memory, reinforcing social hierarchies and cultural values. Through such symbols, the artwork taps into primal emotions tied to ancestry.