Portret van Marco Aurelio Severino 1645

Peter Troschel made this engraving of Marco Aurelio Severino in the 17th century. The fine lines were achieved by using a tool called a burin to cut into a copper plate, which would then be inked and printed. You can see the material qualities of the print up close: the way the ink sits on the paper, the slight variations in tone, and the crispness of the lines. This particular print also has text and decorative elements, so it would be considered part of the wider history of printmaking and book production, as well as of portraiture. Engravings like this were relatively time-consuming to produce. They are a good example of how reproductive media were used not just to make images available on a wider scale, but to make them available to a specific, elite audience. The amount of work involved in producing them would have been considerable, yet entirely obscured in the final product. Considering the materials, making, and context of this artwork allows us to understand its full meaning, challenging traditional distinctions between fine art and craft.