Portret van Caspar Wyss

About this artwork

Onderdeel van een serie van 62 portretten van priesters en theologen van Zürich. Zie Hollstein German 111, 1-41.

Art Historical Context

**Portrait of Caspar Wyss** by Conrad Meyer (1659–1689) is a finely executed engraving capturing the likeness of a prominent Zürich priest and theologian. Measuring 217 × 148 mm, this intimate portrait belongs to an ambitious series of 62 engravings dedicated to the city's influential religious figures, as cataloged in Hollstein German 111, plates 1–41. Created in the late 17th century, it reflects the era's reverence for scholarly clergy amid Switzerland's Reformed Protestant tradition, where Zürich was a hub of theological innovation following the Reformation. Conrad Meyer, a skilled Swiss engraver, employed precise line work typical of 17th-century printmaking, allowing for detailed facial features, attire, and symbolic elements that conveyed the subject's piety and intellect. Engravings like this were revolutionary for their reproducibility, enabling widespread dissemination of portraits beyond elite patrons to scholars and institutions. This series thus served as a visual archive, preserving the legacies of Zürich's spiritual leaders for posterity. Visitors will appreciate how such works bridge art and history, offering a window into the cultural fabric of Baroque-era Switzerland, where portraiture honored the mind as much as the divine.

About the Artist

Conrad Meyer · 1618–1689

Comment on works: Portraits; Figures; Landscapes