Portret van schilder Johannes Frans de Backer 1752 - 1762

Girolamo Rossi II created this portrait of the painter Johannes Frans de Backer using etching and engraving techniques. The image is made entirely from tiny parallel lines incised into a metal plate, which would then be inked and pressed onto paper. Note the fineness of the lines, and how they are used to create gradations of tone, and the almost photographic realism of the sitter’s face. The etcher has deployed a highly specialized set of skills, which required years of training. The printmaking processes were crucial to disseminating images, and thus building the reputations of artists like De Backer. Rossi’s print flattens De Backer’s identity into an image that could be reproduced and sold, contributing to the rising market for art and artists in the 18th century. It’s important to remember that even an apparently straightforward portrait like this is the result of intensive labor, on the part of both the painter and the printmaker.