Portret van August Pfeiffer 1680 - 1733

Martin Bernigeroth created this portrait of August Pfeiffer sometime before 1733, using engraving, a printmaking technique dependent on the skillful manipulation of metal. Look closely, and you’ll see how the image is built from a dense network of lines, each one carefully incised into a copper plate. Ink would have been applied to the plate, then wiped away, leaving it only in the engraved lines. Finally, paper was pressed against the plate, transferring the image. This was a labor-intensive process, demanding both physical strength and precision. Engraving like this was a key technology in the early modern period, allowing images and information to be widely disseminated. But it was also a highly specialized craft, requiring years of training. This portrait, therefore, speaks not only to the sitter’s status, but also to the engraver’s skill and the complex social world of artisanal production. It is a potent reminder that even seemingly simple images are the product of skilled labor and material knowledge.