Piramide met portret van Leopold II 1772 - 1773

This print, made by Antoine Alexandre Joseph Cardon, likely dates to the late 18th century. It's made using engraving, a meticulous process involving carving lines into a metal plate to hold ink. Look closely, and you can see how each element – from Leopold II's portrait to the surrounding symbols – is built from these precise marks. The material itself, likely copper, would have been carefully prepared and etched. Consider the labor involved. Each line represents hours of skilled work. The image's very appearance, with its sharp contrasts and intricate details, is inseparable from this process. Prints like these were part of a broader visual culture, circulating images of power and authority. They speak to the political landscape of the time, and the means by which rulers sought to project their image. It encourages us to think about the relationship between art, labor, and social context.