Portret van Karel XV, koning van Zweden en Noorwegen 1845 - 1895

Jean Baptiste Alfred Cornilliet created this portrait of Charles XV, King of Sweden and Norway, using lithography. In this image, we see a representation of power that is very much rooted in its time. The king’s attire, with its military regalia, serves not just as a statement of personal authority, but as a reflection of the complex relationship between monarchy, military might, and national identity in 19th-century Europe. The way that the King poses is also a deliberate act of image-making. Standing next to a column, he evokes classical notions of leadership, linking himself to a lineage of power and authority stretching back to antiquity. By examining period newspapers, political pamphlets, and institutional records, we can better appreciate how artists actively participated in, and shaped, the social and political discourse of their time. Art, in this sense, is never made in a vacuum.