Portret van Franciscus Fock 1780 - 1829

Hendrik Willem Caspari created this portrait of Franciscus Fock as an engraving. The print depicts Fock as a preacher in Amsterdam and several other places, but beyond this, it tells us a lot about Dutch society in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Look at the formality of the portrait. Fock is framed in an oval, a classical form, and the text below the image is carefully laid out. This suggests the importance of social position and the institutions of the church. The engraving itself, as a medium, speaks to a culture of print and the public role of images in disseminating information and reinforcing social hierarchies. To understand this image fully, we might consult church records, genealogical databases, and period newspapers. These sources can illuminate Fock's career, the social networks he operated in, and the prevailing religious and political climate of the Netherlands at the time.