George Ryan 1850

Editor: This is a lithograph titled "George Ryan" made in 1850 by Emil Ditlev Bærentzen, currently at the SMK. It has a very classical, academic portrait style. I'm interested in what a lithograph meant in this period – who was it for? Curator: Precisely! The key lies in the production of the image. Lithography, by the mid-19th century, was a commercially viable method for producing images. It allowed for a multiplication of images at a cost that etching, or engraving couldn't match. So, consider this work within the context of the expanding print culture and mass communication. Editor: So this would be cheaper than commissioning an oil painting of yourself. A way to signify middle-class respectability, perhaps? Curator: Exactly. Think about who needed portraits at that scale, and what was the intention of producing them as reproducible objects. It moves away from notions of unique artistic genius and toward the skilled labor required to generate multiples for distribution. What does the repetitive act of producing this image say about its value? Editor: It democratizes access to images. What do you make of the somewhat stiff, almost caricature-like, depiction? Is that the limit of lithographic technology at the time, or an artistic choice? Curator: Perhaps it is both, lithography demanded its own specific approach to draftsmanship. But also remember the context – what’s being presented and how is dictated, in many ways, by the market and what will appeal to a consuming public. I wonder what would have been lost if he were oil on canvas? Editor: Interesting, thinking about it less as an art object, and more as a consumer object really changes my view. Thanks. Curator: Indeed, analyzing the artwork through the lens of production helps us uncover its social function.