Portret van Chlotharius I 1647 - 1678

Nicolas de Larmessin the First created this print of Chlotharius the First, King of France. It's an engraving, and was intended to be reproduced and distributed widely. We can ask: what is the public role of this image? Here, visual codes and cultural references combine to construct a portrait of kingship. It's an ideal, of course. Chlotharius lived a millennium before Larmessin, so this isn't a true likeness. Instead, it's an evocation of what it meant to be royal in seventeenth-century France. The image would likely have been commissioned or purchased by members of the court, or other wealthy people. Its circulation thus reinforces social hierarchies, reminding viewers of their place in the world. To understand this print better, we might research the status of the French monarchy in the 17th century, the history of portraiture, and the role of printmaking in disseminating cultural values. The meaning of art is always contingent on such contexts.