Jan Six after 1647

This print of Jan Six is an anonymous work, but it suggests the hand of a very skilled printmaker. Its precise date is unknown. The image would have been made by incising lines into a metal plate, inking its surface, and then using a press to transfer the ink to paper. The magic is in the range of tones that the printmaker achieved, the fineness of the lines, and the very delicate gradations of light. Printmaking processes like this relied upon highly specialized labor: the blacksmith who made the tools, the engraver who cut the plate, the papermaker, and of course the printer themselves. It's easy to think of prints as simply reproductive, yet they also have their own aesthetic and cultural history. Consider that this image of a well-to-do gentleman, leaning casually by a window, would have been circulated widely, in effect democratizing his image. It's a far cry from a unique painting, available only to a single owner.