Portret van Saul ben Izak 1764

Abraham Isack Polak made this portrait of Saul ben Izak, using engraving, sometime around the mid-18th century. The lines incised into the copperplate create a delicate, almost lace-like rendering of the sitter, his books, and the surrounding decorative elements. The printmaking process is crucial here. Each impression would have been made using a press, involving labor and distribution. This was a mode of image-making perfectly suited to the burgeoning mercantile economy of the Dutch Republic. Note that the portrait is contained within an elaborate frame. This, together with the Hebrew inscriptions, gives the print the character of a *mizrah*, a devotional object used to indicate the direction of prayer. So while the image speaks to the commercial and social world, it simultaneously references a rich cultural and religious tradition. This convergence is typical of the period. The combination of materials, making, and social context allows a deeper understanding of the artwork, which challenges the distinction between fine art and craft.