Portret van Georg Ludwig von Wurmb 1721 - 1733

This is Martin Bernigeroth's portrait of Georg Ludwig von Wurmb, made with etching and engraving sometime around the turn of the 18th century. Bernigeroth used intaglio printmaking techniques, manually incising lines into a metal plate to create the image. Acid would have been used to bite these lines deeper, and the plate would then have been inked and pressed onto paper. The precise details of von Wurmb’s face, his elaborate wig, and the heraldic symbols bordering the portrait all required skill and time. The texture is smooth, with crisp lines and intricate shading achieved through careful control of pressure and the depth of the etched lines. The whole process speaks to the labor involved. Prints like this one were often commissioned by the sitter as a way of promoting their status. The proliferation of printed images had social implications. It made visual information more accessible and affordable, but also underscored social hierarchies through portraiture. The print is itself an artifact of nascent capitalism. Considering the work involved in its production reminds us that it’s not just a picture, but an object embedded in a web of labor, materials, and social meanings.