Portret van David Friedrich Strauss 1840 - 1855

This is Carl Mayer’s portrait of David Friedrich Strauss, made using steel engraving, a printing process that gained popularity in the 19th century for its precision. The process involved cutting an image into a steel plate, which was then used to produce multiple prints. The fineness of the lines achievable with steel allowed for detailed and tonal richness, as you can see in the delicate rendering of Strauss’s features and clothing. The rise of steel engraving coincided with the industrial revolution, reflecting a broader shift towards mass production and consumption. The technique enabled the creation of affordable, high-quality reproductions of artworks and portraits, making them accessible to a wider audience. Considering this portrait, the choice of steel engraving emphasizes the value placed on accuracy, detail, and reproducibility in an era marked by technological advancement. It also hints at the labor involved in producing these images, and how they democratized art, and the social standing associated with them, across different classes.