Portrait of Marshal von der Schulenburg c. 1735

Giovanni Battista Piazzetta created this portrait of Marshal von der Schulenburg with charcoal and white chalk on gray paper. The theatrical drama of the baroque and rococo periods in Europe is clear here. Schulenburg is presented as a powerful, upper-class man. This work was most likely made in Venice sometime in the first half of the 18th century. The setting of Venice is important. Venice was at the time a major center for the arts and culture but was also known for its rigid class structure. The image here, with its focus on the trappings of wealth and status, makes no attempt to question the social hierarchies of its time. Instead, the image celebrates them. Art historians consult many different resources to better understand pieces like this, things like letters between the artist and his patrons, or publications from the time in which it was made, all of which help us to better understand the social and institutional context in which art is made.