Portret van onbekende man 1831 - 1863

This portrait of an unknown man was made by Nicolaas Johannes Wilhelmus de Roode, and we can see it is a lithograph. Lithography, unlike painting, involves a printmaking process which is significant in this context. It is created by drawing on a flat stone with a greasy substance, then treating the stone so that ink adheres only to the drawn areas, and finally printing it onto paper. The nature of lithography also means that many copies of the image could be made, which makes it suitable for mass production. Consider the social implications of this work. In the 19th century, lithography democratized image-making. Portraits, once exclusively for the wealthy, became accessible to a wider public. De Roode's skilled hand and the lithographic process combine to present not just an image, but a reflection of a changing society where art and representation were becoming more accessible. It reminds us that every artwork is a product of its time, shaped by both artistic skill and the prevailing modes of production.