The first images in the relatively new medium of printing appeared sometime around 1500. They went through a development over the course of the 16th century, and the physiognomic information received additional iconographic aspects. At the same time the number of paintings depicting rulers in religious or mythological “disguises” became more and more widespread. The thesis of this lecture is that the amplifications of a simple image are based in part on an earlier constellation of the general public. In the 19th century, these extensions of portraits of royalty turned into caricature. In modern times, the arts are no longer used for portraits of royalty. One can observe, on the other hand, that once again contemporary mass media has given the image of royalty characteristics that stem from the general public’s normative concepts.