The true Countenance of Johann Sebastian Bach

The University of Dundee in Scotland has produced a reconstruction of Bach’s face using forensic techniques. This essay compares the reconstruction with the authentic portrait of Bach painted in 1746, and considers the value of both likenesses. Donatus Prinz von Hohenzollern not only arrives at an unequivocal conclusion, he also raises fundamental questions relating to image theory, considering the power of the image, the possibility of accessing reality through subjectivity (that is, the objectivity that arises from a dual subjectivity), the rendering of real ‘presence’ by means of technically accurate representation, and the physicality (and noticeable absence of spirit) that results from the application of technical methods alone, e.g. in the case of Andy Warhol’s work. Beginning with reflections on the royal portrait, Christian ritual and Jesus Christ’s crown of thorns, the essay goes on to deliver a clear statement about the significance of both portraits of Bach, at the same time offering therein an answer to the question: does a person really have a true countenance?