Portret van Pierre-Louis Roederer 1768 - 1817

This is Johann Heinrich Lips's portrait of Pierre-Louis Roederer, made with etching around the late 18th or early 19th century. Lips, a Swiss artist, created this print during a time of great political and social upheaval in Europe. Roederer, a prominent political figure during the French Revolution, is depicted here in profile. His powdered wig and formal attire mark him as a man of the aristocracy. Yet, the revolution sought to disrupt these very markers of identity and power. Consider the tension between Roederer's personal identity and the changing world around him, as his class distinctions were under threat. This portrait exists as both a representation of an individual and a document of a society in transition. It invites us to reflect on the shifting nature of identity during times of political change, and the ways in which individuals like Roederer navigated these transformations.