Portret van Hermanus Boerhaave 1787

This is Reinier Vinkeles’s portrait of Hermanus Boerhaave, made with etching and engraving techniques. The image is not drawn but rather impressed into the paper. It began with a metal plate, likely copper, into which the design was cut. Acid was probably used to bite the image more deeply, before the plate was inked and run through a press. Look closely, and you can see the subtle differences between the crisp lines of the engraving and the more irregular marks created by the etching process. Consider the labor involved. This wasn’t just a quick sketch, but a meticulous act of production. The final print is one of many. This was, in essence, a reproductive technology – an early version of mechanical image-making. Prints like this made images accessible to a wider audience, and began to erode the distinction between high art and the applied arts.