Portret van bioloog en arts Jan Ingenhousz 1769

This engraving of Jan Ingenhousz was made by Domenico Cunego in Rome in 1769. It shows the Dutch biologist in profile, framed by a laurel wreath, with an inscription that refers to his service to the Habsburgs in Vienna. The image is more than a simple likeness. The laurel wreath signals Ingenhousz's accomplishments in the fields of science and medicine. The inscription makes clear that Ingenhousz earned his fame attending to the health of the Austrian royal family, suggesting the close ties between scientific expertise and political power in eighteenth-century Europe. Images like this one circulated widely during the Enlightenment. They helped to establish a visual culture that celebrated scientific achievement, especially where that was linked to the power of the state. Historians consult sources such as letters, scientific publications, and institutional records to understand the context in which images like this were created. These sources help us to see how the production of art and the development of science were intertwined with the social and political structures of the time.