Portret van Auguste zu Mecklenburg 1714 - 1779

This is Martin Tyroff’s ‘Portret van Auguste zu Mecklenburg’, an engraving. The artist has used the precise and repetitive action of carving into a metal plate to produce this portrait. It’s a world away from the gestural marks of painting or drawing, and closer to the world of industrial production. The material here is not paint or clay, but metal. And like any industrial process, engraving has its own logic. Here, a copper plate becomes the matrix through which ink passes onto paper, which has allowed for multiple reproductions of the same image. This reproductive capacity democratizes the image, making it accessible to a wider audience beyond the elite circles who could afford original paintings. Consider also the labor involved: the skilled artisan carefully etching lines, meticulously replicating details. This work is born from labor. To fully appreciate this engraving, we must move beyond traditional notions of fine art, and consider the social context of its creation, recognizing the value of skilled labor and the democratizing potential of reproductive technologies.