Portret van de letterkundige Hendrik Jacob Koenen 1835 - 1886

Dirk Jurriaan Sluyter made this portrait of Hendrik Jacob Koenen using engraving, a printmaking technique with a long history. In engraving, an artist uses a tool called a burin to carve lines into a metal plate. Ink is then applied to the plate, filling these lines. The surface is wiped clean, and the image is transferred to paper under high pressure. This process allows for the creation of detailed and precise images, as you can see in the fine lines that define Koenen's features and clothing. The choice of engraving as a medium speaks to the social context of the time. Printmaking made images more widely accessible and affordable. While painting was the domain of the wealthy, prints could circulate among a broader audience. Consider the labor involved in creating such a work, from the engraver's skill to the printing process itself. This portrait, therefore, becomes not just an image of an individual, but also a testament to the democratizing power of reproducible media.