Fotoreproductie van een gravure van De geboorte van Christus door Schelte Adamsz. Bolswert, naar het schilderij door Peter Paul Rubens before 1858

This is a photogravure of the Nativity by Jean Louis Bargignac, made in the 19th century after a painting by Peter Paul Rubens and a print by Schelte Adamsz. Bolswert. The image shows the infant Jesus in the manger, adored by Mary and Joseph as angels look on. Its iconography is rooted in Christian theology, but we might also consider it as a product of the institutions of art. The image is not made from life, but produced at two or three removes from its original source. Rubens, a painter, makes an image that is turned into a print, probably to circulate it more widely; then, finally, Bargignac makes a photographic reproduction of the print. Note how the means of reproduction change over time. In the nineteenth century, photography allowed images to be copied with increasing speed, precision, and fidelity. If we wish to properly understand this image, it should be clear that the art historian needs to be a historian of technology, reproduction, and distribution, as well as religion.