Vignette with Two Griffins 1720

Editor: Here we have Bernard Picart's "Vignette with Two Griffins." It's a small print, only a few inches wide. It seems like it might be an emblem or a bookplate. What can you tell me about it? Curator: Well, let's consider the labor involved. Picart was a master engraver, part of a network producing images for a burgeoning market. The griffins, crown, and shield are symbols of power, but the print itself makes that imagery accessible. Who would have consumed this, and how does the means of production affect its meaning? Editor: So you're thinking about how printed images democratized symbols of power? That's really interesting! Curator: Precisely. The materiality of the print, its affordability, and its reproducibility challenge the exclusivity usually associated with heraldry. What do you think? Editor: I hadn't considered it that way before. Thinking about production gives it a totally different context. Thanks! Curator: My pleasure, it's crucial to examine how the material conditions of art shape its social function.