Portret van Jean-Baptiste van Merlen c. 1851 - 1883

This is Johan Hendrik Hoffmeister's portrait of Jean-Baptiste van Merlen, made using lithography, a printmaking technique rooted in the aesthetics of drawing. The beauty of lithography lies in its directness. Unlike etching or engraving, which require laborious cutting into metal, lithography allows the artist to draw directly onto a stone or metal plate with a greasy crayon, capturing a remarkable range of tones. The artist then treats the plate with chemicals, so that ink adheres only to the drawn areas, allowing the image to be transferred onto paper. The resulting print retains the spontaneity and expressive quality of the original drawing. Look closely, and you can see how the subtle gradations of tone create a lifelike depiction of van Merlen. The process democratized image-making, allowing for mass production and distribution, but the final print still holds the mark of the artist’s hand. By engaging with this technique, Hoffmeister blurred the boundaries between fine art and craft.