Portret van Albrecht I van Habsburg (Rooms-Duits koning) after 1644

Pieter van Sompel created this engraving of Albrecht I, Holy Roman Emperor, in the Netherlands during the first half of the 17th century. It's an image embedded in the politics of imagery. Albrecht is framed by symbols of power: angels, eagles and heraldic shields. It suggests an ordained, natural hierarchy, but what exactly is this image trying to communicate? It's important to remember that the Dutch Republic was, at this time, in the throes of establishing its own identity, rebelling against Habsburg rule. In this context, images of rulers carried heavy political weight. Was Van Sompel simply producing propaganda? Or was he subtly subverting these established visual codes, questioning the very nature of authority? To answer this, we might investigate the printmaking workshops of the period or explore the political writings that circulated at the time. It is through this kind of social and institutional history that we can properly understand this portrait, which both reflects and shapes the ongoing power struggles of its time.