Vrouw in carnavalskostuum met masker in haar hand c. 1885 - 1903

Jan van Beers created this lithograph, “Vrouw in carnavalskostuum met masker in haar hand”, meaning “Woman in carnival costume with mask in her hand". The lithographic process involves drawing with a grease crayon on a flat stone or metal plate, which is then treated so that ink adheres only to the drawn areas. Here, Van Beers uses this reproductive medium to capture a moment of revelry. Notice the figure's elaborate costume; it looks like it would be extremely labor-intensive to create. The image is mass-produced, but the garment depicted would have been exclusive. It’s a sharp contrast - suggesting that even in times of celebration, social distinctions remain. The print’s flat, graphic quality also speaks to the influence of Japanese woodblock prints, which were all the rage at the time. By combining this aesthetic with a modern scene, Van Beers blurs the boundaries between fine art and commercial illustration, and between unique artistic vision and mass production. In doing so, he asks us to consider how we assign value to images, and to the labor and materials that go into making them.