Portret van Rijer Hendrik van Someren 1834

This is Philippus Velijn's "Portret van Rijer Hendrik van Someren," a delicate engraving. Look closely, and you’ll see how the image is built from a dense, intentional network of lines. The artist would have used a tool called a burin to manually cut these marks into a metal plate. Ink is then applied to the plate, and the surface is wiped clean, leaving ink only in the engraved lines. The printmaker then presses paper against the plate, transferring the image. Engraving like this was a skilled, laborious process. It demanded the artist’s complete attention and control. In the early 19th century, engraving was the main way of reproducing images. It was a crucial skill, essential for everything from book illustrations to portraits of the powerful. It was a painstaking process but allowed for incredible detail, as you can see in the texture of the sitter's clothing and hair. This print reminds us that even seemingly simple images often rely on complex, time-consuming methods, and that the value of art lies not just in its appearance, but also in the labor and expertise embedded within it.