Fotoreproductie van Pilatus en de hogepriesters door Jan Gossaert before 1861

Edmond Fierlants made this photogravure reproduction of Jan Gossaert's "Pilatus en de hogepriesters." The image is printed on paper, itself an interesting material when we think about art. What sets photography apart is its mechanical nature. While Gossaert had to have tremendous dexterity to render his original painting, Fierlants relied on chemical processes involving light and shadow, and the division of labor inherent in printmaking. The sepia tone and soft focus give a sense of timelessness, yet the very technology used to produce it speaks to the moment it was made, in the early days of reproductive media. This brings up questions about the value we place on originality and how we come to understand art and its making. Is this a masterwork simply because it presents us with an image of one? Or does its value lie in the way it opens up a broader conversation about art, labor, and mechanical reproduction? Photography democratized access to images, but it also changed our relationship to them.