Portret van Chrétien-Guillaume de Lamoignon de Malesherbes 1818 - 1842

Jean-Baptiste Mauzaisse rendered this image of Chrétien-Guillaume de Lamoignon de Malesherbes in printmaking; observe the profile portrait of a man adorned in a powdered wig. The wig itself is a potent symbol. Once a marker of status and sophistication within the European aristocracy, this elaborate hairstyle speaks of wealth, power, and adherence to a certain social order. Yet, the wig also conceals—a mask of sorts, under which lie the individual's true thoughts and feelings. Consider how such a symbol, once synonymous with authority, underwent a dramatic shift. During periods of revolution, this very emblem became a target, a signifier of the elite overthrown and mocked. The wig, therefore, becomes a powerful reminder of how symbols are never fixed. They are fluid, changing with the currents of history, reflecting and shaping our collective memory. This is the eternal return of the image, ever-present in the depths of the human experience.