Portret van Ferdinand II 1636 - 1702

Federico Agnelli made this undated print, titled *Portret van Ferdinand II*, using etching techniques. The image is replete with symbols of imperial power, dominated by the double-headed eagle, the crown, and the laurel wreath. It’s likely that this was made in Rome. Agnelli spent much of his career there, within the orbit of powerful families like the Pamphili, for whom he designed temporary decorations to mark ceremonial occasions. Prints like this one played a crucial role in the early modern period, both as records of events and as propaganda. The figure of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor during the Thirty Years War, would have been a controversial one, particularly in Protestant parts of Europe. This print constructs an image of him as divinely ordained, as the Latin inscription on the portrait suggests: “Ferdinand II, Pious, Fortunate, and Augustus.” To understand the print fully, we would need to look at examples of the ceremonial architecture Agnelli designed, plus other prints that circulated in Europe at this time. Art doesn't exist in a vacuum.