Portret van Ursula Maria Plitz 1719 - 1733

Martin Bernigeroth created this portrait of Ursula Maria Plitz using engraving, a printmaking technique with a long and fascinating history. The process starts with a metal plate, traditionally copper, into which the artist carefully incises a design using a tool called a burin. The ink settles into these grooves, and when the plate is pressed against paper, the image is transferred. Look closely, and you can see the network of fine lines that create the tonal variations and details. Engraving demands precision and control. Bernigeroth would have spent hours meticulously crafting each line to capture Plitz’s likeness. The material qualities of the copper plate itself, its smoothness and receptivity to the burin, dictate the nature of the image, lending it a crispness and clarity. The resulting print is one of many, a repeatable image and a potent symbol of an emerging, more accessible visual culture. By appreciating the labor-intensive process behind this print, we can see how the value and meaning of images can shift depending on how they're made, and the social context in which they circulate.