"Die vier Temperamente" 1784

Georg Christian Schule made "Die vier Temperamente" using a printmaking technique, sometime around the turn of the 19th century. As a print, this work occupies an interesting place between art and industry. Consider the skilled labor involved in its production. First, Schule would have created a design, incising lines into a metal plate with specialized tools. The plate would then be inked, and paper pressed against it, transferring the image. The matrix could then be used again and again, to create identical images. Unlike a unique painting or sculpture, prints can be reproduced, allowing for wider distribution, playing a crucial role in disseminating visual information, and shaping public opinion. In Schule's time, printmaking also provided income to artists, blurring the lines between artistic expression and commercial enterprise. This small print reminds us that art is seldom made in isolation from social and economic forces.