Gezicht op een triomfboog met een tweekoppige adelaar en een portretbuste van Jozef II, Duits keizer, te Frankfurt am Main 1765 - 1799

This anonymous print captures a triumphal arch erected in Frankfurt am Main, likely made to honor Joseph II, the Holy Roman Emperor. Dominating the structure is the two-headed eagle, a powerful emblem of the Holy Roman Empire, symbolizing its vast reach and dual nature, both secular and divine. The two-headed eagle, rooted in ancient heraldry, has journeyed through time, echoing in Byzantine art and medieval banners. Think of the Roman god Janus, also two-faced, guarding gates and transitions. Here, this imperial eagle surmounts the portrait of Joseph II, its gaze simultaneously fixed upon the past and future. The collective psyche, steeped in centuries of Roman imperial symbolism, responds to this image. The eagle’s commanding presence evokes feelings of strength and authority, engaging viewers on a primal level. This motif, like a persistent dream, resurfaces across epochs, adapting its plumage to new cultural skies.