Power and status

Much of the art in the Fitzwilliam Museum was created for and commissioned by the rich and powerful.

Read here about medieval books produced for a king and a bishop.

See how leaders throughout history have sought to increase and consolidate their power through the spreading of their image: Amenemhat III of Egypt, the successors of Alexander the Great, Napoleon Bonaparte of France and Queen Victoria of England

And see the work of one of England's greatest satirists and printmakers, James Gillray, who used his art to deflate the self-importance of those in power.