Heilige Hieronymus 1801

This image of Saint Jerome was made by Pierre Charles Coqueret using a technique called manière de crayon, or crayon manner. This was an 18th-century printmaking process designed to mimic the effect of a chalk or pastel drawing. It involved using special tools to create a texture on the printing plate that would hold ink in a way that resembled the soft, grainy quality of those drawing materials. Look closely, and you’ll see the tiny dots and dashes that create the illusion of shading and depth. The crayon manner was incredibly labor-intensive. Each plate required meticulous handwork, making it a time-consuming and highly skilled endeavor. The resulting prints were valued for their aesthetic appeal, and also for their ability to democratize access to images. Because they were relatively easy to reproduce, prints like this helped to circulate artistic ideas widely. So, next time you look at a print, remember that it’s not just a simple reproduction. It is a testament to the ingenuity and skill of the printmaker, who transformed a laborious process into a work of art in its own right.