A double portrait of Charles IV and his wife Anna of Świdnica holding up a reliquary in the Chapel of Saint Catherine at Karlštejn Castle.
Throughout his reign, Charles's likeness was used to convey various political, spiritual, and ideological messages to his audiences. The many extant portraits and images of Charles – some individualized, some more idealized – reflect aspects of his imperial ambitions, faith and piety, and familial relations. These images were also made to preserve his likeness and characterization as a powerful and devout ruler for posterity.
After his imperial coronation in Rome in 1355, a new imperial seal of majesty was created for Charles. It shows the new ruler as an ideal leader, seated frontally on a throne between two eagles and the coats-of-arms of his lands: Bohemia and the Holy Roman Empire.
