Portret van de theoloog Philipp Jacob Spener 1670 - 1713

This is Pieter Schenk’s portrait of Philipp Jacob Spener, made with engraving. The portrait is contained within a circle, neatly arranged in a formal composition. The tonal gradations—carefully modulated shades of grey—define Spener’s likeness. The crisp, detailed lines create an interesting contrast with the softer treatment of his robes. This contrast plays with the conventions of portraiture. Usually, we see a focus on the sitter's features, designed to reveal character and status. Here, the structural rigidity and the starkness of line serve to remove any emotional depth. We are given the facts—the clear lines of his collar and coat, and the inscriptions that frame his head. Schenk’s graphic clarity presents us with Spener as a figure of almost diagrammatic representation. This is not just a portrait, but an idea of a person, reduced to form. The portrait’s geometric qualities create a sense of the sitter as an ideal type rather than an individual. This type exists within a formal, structured worldview.