Portret van Adriaan van Woelwijk alias Johannes Roos 1703 - 1731

Editor: This engraving, "Portrait of Adriaan van Woelwijk alias Johannes Roos," was made sometime between 1703 and 1731 by Pieter van Gunst. It's really striking; there's so much texture achieved just with lines. What jumps out at you when you look at this piece? Curator: For me, the engraving's strength lies in understanding the labour involved. The painstaking process of etching and tooling to create these intricate lines...It speaks to the artisanal systems of production and the sheer time invested. Also, what’s the paper itself saying here, who consumed prints such as this? Editor: That's a good point; the choice of paper, being a more readily available material, speaks to broader consumption beyond the elite. But the details, especially in the wig, are incredibly fine. How do you reconcile the craft element with what we often see as “high art”? Curator: This engraving pushes us to rethink such hierarchies. Consider the economics, the role of the printing press, the market it supplied with images of notable figures. This image operates not just as a portrait, but also as commodity circulated and consumed within particular social networks and workshops. The question becomes who commissioned the work, how the material was made available to the engraver and who acquired and viewed the print in turn? Editor: So it's not just about artistic skill but about understanding the mechanisms that allow this skill to be distributed. Curator: Precisely. It is a way to understand how image and material, social practice, labor and portraiture, intertwined in early modern European society, impacting and reshaping what art is capable of doing and what class or individuals were in access to view or create. Editor: This has completely changed my view. Thanks for highlighting the social aspects and the labour that often get overlooked! Curator: Likewise, this examination serves as a good reminder to question what it is that matters to each of us!