Portretten van een onbekende hooggeplaatste vrouw en gravin hertogin Elisabeth van Bouillon, beiden als herderin 1640

Editor: This is "Portretten van een onbekende hooggeplaatste vrouw en gravin hertogin Elisabeth van Bouillon, beiden als herderin," a print from 1640 by Crispijn van de (II) Passe. It's quite detailed, rendered in that old engraving style. What do you notice about how it was made? Curator: The burin work is impressive, allowing for such intricate detail. Look at how the material itself signifies status – consider the accessibility of prints versus painted portraits at the time. The labor involved in creating the matrix, the printing process, and distribution networks, all democratized images, challenging the traditional exclusivity of portraiture for the elite. Editor: So, the act of creating a print, which makes it accessible, also carries social implications? Curator: Precisely! It’s not just about the depiction of nobility as shepherdesses, playing at pastoral life. The material process broadcasts this image widely. These women are actively consuming and displaying versions of themselves facilitated by printmaking's broader market reach. How do you think their "performance" is further enabled by the means of image production? Editor: It's fascinating to think about how a traditionally high-art activity such as portraiture combines with the material production that would usually be considered a craft to enable a totally novel form of social display and communication. Curator: Exactly! The blurring of these boundaries opens new avenues for understanding the social life of art and its complex relationship with production and consumption. Editor: I never thought about printmaking as a social leveler; that’s definitely something to keep in mind going forward. Thanks!