Bildnis des Georg Ettling, Ingenieur in Frankfurt am Main 

Eugen Eduard Schäffer rendered this pencil drawing of Georg Ettling, an engineer in Frankfurt am Main, at an unknown date. What do we make of this image of a professional in the early 19th century? The cultivation of an educated, male, middle class was a burgeoning movement across Europe at this time. This portrait provides a window into the visual construction of bourgeois identity, which emphasized restraint, reason, and industry. Ettling’s neat hairstyle and tailored coat suggests a person of means, respectability, and self-possession. Yet, this portrait is rendered in pencil, a medium often associated with sketches or preparatory studies, which makes it feel accessible. The lack of adornment invites us to consider the individual, and to reflect on the emotional landscape of a man living through a period of immense social and technological change. This drawing captures a moment in time and speaks to the evolving concept of self in a rapidly modernizing world.