Portret van Rowland Wandesford 1778

James Watson created this mezzotint portrait of Rowland Wandesford, capturing the aesthetics and social norms of the 18th century. Wandesford is portrayed as a figure of authority, his attire and posture speaking to the power structures of the time. Consider how the visual representation of masculinity and social status are constructed here. What does it mean to perform power through clothing and pose? The rigid collar and the luxurious robe mark Wandesford's status, but also perhaps, the constraints of his social role. There's a tension here, isn't there, between the individual and the performance of identity expected of him. We might reflect on who gets remembered in portraiture and how these images reinforce or challenge social hierarchies. What do we learn from the way Wandesford presents himself, and what does it tell us about the values of his world?