Tekenles [?] 1887 - 1888

This small medal, by Louis Eugêne Mouchon, is made of silver. The design is stamped into the metal, using a die. Consider the labor involved: not just Mouchon’s artistry, but the cutting of the die. A silversmith would have melted the metal, and a press operator would have physically stamped the coins. The medal’s image depicts the figure of art, seated, instructing a young woman in drawing, with an artist's muse in the background. But the real instruction here is the system of skill involved in the medal’s own manufacture. This kind of medal was a product of its time, the late 19th century. In this era, industrialization enabled the mass production of commemorative items. The preciousness of the material, silver, is at odds with its industrial fabrication. These processes shouldn’t be seen as separate: the value of the silver, the artistry of the design, and the technology used in its manufacture, were all brought together to produce this small object.