Portret van Johann Konrad Pfenniger 1763 - 1849

This is Jan Willem Paulus’s portrait of Johann Konrad Pfenniger, made using etching techniques. The portrait captures Pfenniger in profile, a common pose for formal portraiture, particularly in the 18th and 19th centuries. Pfenniger is presented as an educated and affluent man. The portrait speaks to the visual language of class and status of the time, where portraiture served to immortalize and elevate individuals within a specific social hierarchy. Consider the power dynamics inherent in portraiture. Who gets memorialized, and what does it mean to have one’s image preserved and presented for public consumption? This portrait of Johann Konrad Pfenniger invites us to consider the ways in which images participate in the construction of identity and the perpetuation of societal norms.