Charon's boot op de Styx 1801

Pierre Audouin made this print, Charon's Boat on the Styx, sometime around the turn of the 19th century. Its lines were etched into a copper plate, a skilled tradition demanding precision. Notice how the incised lines create areas of light and dark. The varying densities suggest depth and volume, even though the image is entirely flat. Because printmaking processes allow for easy reproduction, they democratized art. This piece, for example, might have been acquired by someone who could never afford an original painting. The image shows the ferryman Charon, from Greek myth. He’s offering a free ride across the river Styx to a doctor, presumably because medicine has thinned the ranks of potential customers! The print's narrative, combined with its accessibility, makes it an object deeply embedded in its social context. It asks us to consider how images circulate, and who gets to see them. This challenges the traditional hierarchy of the arts, where painting and sculpture were once privileged above all else.