Reproductie van Chasse au lion door Eugène Fromentin-Dupeux before 1876

This is a reproduction of 'Chasse au Lion' by Eugène Fromentin-Dupeux, made by Charles Michelez. It’s a printed image, a reproduction rather than an original painting. So, in a way, it's all about process. The original artwork depicts a lion hunt, an exotic scene that evokes a sense of adventure and danger, but here, we have a mass-produced image, and it's important to remember the means of its creation. The textures and details from the original artwork are translated through a mechanical printing process. The material qualities of the print —the paper, the ink, the way the image sits on the page— all influence its appearance and meaning. This reproduction invites us to consider the democratizing potential of printmaking. It takes imagery that would otherwise be reserved for an elite audience, and makes it more widely available. By focusing on the material and process, we move away from a traditional understanding of art as solely about the artist’s hand or original idea, and consider the wider social and economic context in which images circulate.