Portret van Lazare Hoche 1828 - 1878

This is Auguste François Alès's print of Lazare Hoche. It’s made with a printing process called etching, where an image is incised into a metal plate, inked, and then transferred to paper, creating a kind of tonal drawing. Notice how the fine lines create a sense of depth and volume, particularly in Hoche’s face and uniform. Etching was significant as a means of reproducing images and making them widely available. In the 19th century, this print would have been relatively inexpensive, and it democratized art by circulating images to a broader public. Consider, too, the labor involved in the production of a print like this: the skilled hand of the artist creating the image on the plate, as well as the labor involved in printing itself, which would have involved many impressions to satisfy demand. So, while this image of a military figure might seem straightforward at first glance, the materials and processes of its making reveal a fascinating intersection of art, labor, and social context.