Diana 17th-18th century

Editor: Here we have Bernard Picart's "Diana," a print housed at the Harvard Art Museums. The lines are delicate, almost like a sketch. I'm curious about how this image was made – what does its production tell us? Curator: Consider the etching process itself. The labor involved, the skilled artisan shaping the copper plate. This print wasn't about unique artistic genius, but about reproduction, dissemination, and potentially, profit. How does that context shift your understanding? Editor: So, it’s less about the mythical scene and more about how the image circulated? Curator: Precisely. Think about the social context: Who was consuming these prints? What kind of value did they hold? The very materiality of the ink and paper speaks to a network of production and consumption. Editor: I see. By looking at the process, we can uncover hidden layers of meaning. Curator: Absolutely. The means of production shapes the message.