Charles Gravier, Comte de Vergennes 1780

Curator: Let's turn our attention to this print of Charles Gravier, Comte de Vergennes, made by Charles Clément Bervic. Look at the fine lines achieved through engraving, likely on copper, a testament to the printmaker's skill. Editor: He seems like a man burdened by the weight of his position. You can sense the pressures of 18th-century French politics etched onto his face, can’t you? Curator: Indeed. Bervic masterfully captured Vergennes' likeness and status through the labor-intensive process of engraving, a means of reproducing and disseminating power. Editor: Absolutely, and the print itself serves as a social artifact, reflecting the hierarchies and the visual language of the French aristocracy right before the revolution. It's a powerful, if subtle, statement. Curator: Considering the work involved in its creation and reproduction, it is a potent reminder of how images were tools of communication. Editor: Seeing this, I'm newly conscious of the artist and subject's place in society on the eve of immense political change.