Portret van Karel VII, koning van Frankrijk 1598

This is a portrait of Charles VII, King of France, made by Jost Amman sometime in the late 16th century. It’s an engraving, meaning the image was incised into a metal plate, likely copper, and then printed onto paper. Think about the labor involved. First, the engraver would need to be a skilled draughtsman, able to translate a likeness into a network of lines. Then, the act of cutting those lines into metal requires great dexterity, using specialized tools to remove tiny slivers of material. Finally, the inked plate has to be pressed onto paper, transferring the image. The resulting print is a multiple, an image that can be reproduced and disseminated widely. This was crucial in an age before photography, allowing the faces of power to circulate, reinforcing their authority through sheer visibility. The print medium also made art more accessible, extending its reach beyond the wealthy elite. You might even say that prints like this were an early form of mass media.