Portret van kardinaal Francesco Barberini 1658

Giovanni Luigi Valesio made this portrait of Cardinal Francesco Barberini using etching, a printmaking technique, sometime between 1583 and 1633. Look closely and you can see how the etched lines define the Cardinal's features, clothing, and the surrounding ornamentation. These lines are not spontaneous, but precisely rendered. The etching process involves covering a metal plate with a waxy, acid-resistant substance called the 'ground'. The artist then scratches an image into the ground using a needle, exposing the metal beneath. The plate is then immersed in acid, which bites into the exposed lines, creating grooves. Ink is applied to these grooves, and the plate is pressed onto paper, transferring the image. The controlled, repeatable nature of the etching, allowed for the widespread dissemination of images. This had a profound impact on society, enabling the relatively inexpensive distribution of information. The social status of the sitter adds to the picture, hinting at a crossover between craft, industry, and art.