Portret van Johann August Unzer 1767

Reinier Vinkeles made this portrait of Johann August Unzer using etching and engraving, likely sometime around 1775. These printmaking techniques are all about the controlled manipulation of metal, and the deep, embodied knowledge of the printmaker. Vinkeles would have started with a copper plate, meticulously coating it with wax, and then used a sharp needle to scratch away lines, exposing the metal. This plate would then be submerged in acid, eating away at the exposed lines. The longer the plate sat in the acid, the deeper the lines would become, allowing for a variation in the intensity of the printed line. He then would have applied ink to the plate, carefully wiping away the excess, so that ink only remained in the etched lines. Finally, the plate would be pressed onto paper, transferring the image. Consider the labor involved in making a print like this. The level of detailing, the careful gradations of tone, all speak to the intense focus of the printmaker, which is easy to overlook. It reminds us that even seemingly mass-produced images have a direct connection to skilled handwork.