Fotoreproductie van een prent, voorstellende een portret van keizer Napoleon III van Frankrijk before 1905

This photogravure of a portrait of Emperor Napoleon III was made anonymously, and we don’t know when. It's printed in black and white, but the variations in tone are so subtle, you can really see the artist pushing at the edges of what this technique can do. It's all about process. Look closely, and you'll see these tiny dots of ink – that's the texture of the photogravure coming through. You can imagine the artist carefully etching the plate, controlling the depth and density of each mark to build up the image. The way the light catches the fabric of Napoleon's coat, or the soft gradations of shadow on his face, it's incredible! The level of detail is almost photographic, but there's also something very handmade and human about it. Thinking about these kinds of techniques makes me think of Vija Celmins, who also works with photorealism and the effects of tone in her work. There's always a conversation going on across time and through art.