Fotoreproductie van een gravure naar De Heilige Thomas en de Heilige Hieronymus door Guido Reni in het Vaticaan before 1868

This is a photographic reproduction of an engraving after Guido Reni’s painting of Saint Thomas and Saint Jerome in the Vatican. While the engraver is unknown, the act of reproducing Reni’s work speaks volumes about cultural values. Consider the role of these saints. Both were scholars, men of the church, and figures of intellectual authority during the Renaissance. Reproducing and circulating their images reinforced the power of the Catholic Church and its patriarchal structure. Engravings like this one made art accessible to a wider audience, but also standardized and controlled the narratives being disseminated. The act of re-presentation always bears consideration. What does it mean to copy? What is lost, and what is gained? In our current world of digital reproduction, this image allows us to reflect on the politics of image-making through time.