Portret van Vincent Voiture 1804 - 1812

This is Philibert Boutrois's print "Portret van Vincent Voiture." It is an engraving, meaning the image was incised into a metal plate, which was then inked and printed. Consider the labor involved. The engraver would have needed skill to render the likeness of Voiture, a French author. The finely drawn lines create subtle gradations of light and shadow, giving the portrait a remarkable sense of depth and volume. The engraver also had to be a technician, carefully controlling the pressure of the burin to achieve the desired effect. The production of prints like this one was a crucial means of disseminating images and ideas in early modern Europe. The very nature of printmaking implies a system of mass production, a move away from the unique, hand-made object. Yet, each print is also the result of skillful work, blurring boundaries between art and craft.