Ignaz von Born c. 1790

Johann Baptist von Lampi the Elder painted this portrait of Ignaz von Born, using oil on canvas, sometime in the late 18th century. The texture of the woven canvas support is smoothed out by many layers of preparatory gesso. These create a receptive ground for the application of oil paints, which are finely ground from pigment and oil, applied in thin layers. Lampi would have had apprentices helping him with these labor-intensive tasks, indicative of workshop production. The portrait is an interesting example of how painting served the rising middle class. Born was a mineralogist and metallurgist, not an aristocrat, and would have earned enough money to commission the painting. The image is a mark of distinction, an assertion of the value of his work. The value of the painting, both aesthetic and economic, derives from the labor that went into its making. Looking closely at materiality, the canvas, gesso, and pigment, highlights the role of labor, politics, and consumption involved in its production, allowing us to better understand its social and cultural significance.