B. J. Fog 1866

This portrait, B. J. Fog, is an anonymous work made using engraving, a printmaking technique that was once at the cutting edge of reproductive technology. Look closely, and you'll see how the image is built up from a multitude of tiny lines. These are painstakingly incised into a metal plate, which is then inked and pressed onto paper, leaving the image behind. Engraving demands immense skill and time, and it was used to create multiple copies of images, and disseminate them widely. In its heyday, engraving played a key role in commerce, education, and the circulation of ideas. While we may now see this portrait as a work of art, it would originally have been conceived as a means of replication, a product of highly skilled labor. Appreciating the work that went into this piece, and the social context in which it was made, helps us to understand the vital relationship between art, technology, and wider society.