Allegorische voorstelling met Hendrik IV en Maria de' Medici 1739 - 1789

Editor: So this engraving by Pieter Franciscus Martenasie, made sometime between 1739 and 1789, is called "Allegorische voorstelling met Hendrik IV en Maria de' Medici"—a mouthful! The detail achieved through engraving is impressive, it gives an almost photorealistic rendering, what strikes you about the process and the cultural impact of making images this way? Curator: Well, looking at this print, what interests me immediately is the shift in artistic production. This wasn't painting for the elite, but a method for mass production. Consider the implications. Engravings democratized images; suddenly, depictions of royalty, previously only accessible to those who could afford a painted portrait, were available to a wider audience. Editor: That's interesting! It feels almost… subversive in a way? To reproduce an image of a monarch for broader consumption. Curator: Precisely! The act of engraving is inherently a form of reproduction, of making something unique into something replicable. This changes its value, its aura. How does the choice of subject matter play into this, do you think? Depicting the union of Henry IV and Marie de Medici—what statement is made through the reproduction of this political event? Editor: I guess by reproducing an image of this powerful alliance, the engraver may have amplified that power and influence? Especially by placing the image in the hands of the common people. Curator: And beyond simple dissemination, consider the labour involved in the meticulous creation of the plate. Every line, every shadow, painstakingly etched. There is both the subject and the means of production reflecting class. Editor: It is hard to not think about how such laborious act of production, in turn creates many units to be consumed. I guess that making art using this way is to open art to ordinary citizen! Thanks for opening my eyes to that element of prints.