Portret van een jongen van Afrikaanse herkomst 1635

This small portrait of a young boy of African descent was made by Wenceslaus Hollar in 1655 using etching, a printmaking technique. Hollar would have covered a copper plate with a waxy ground, then drawn this image with a sharp needle, exposing the metal. The plate was then immersed in acid, which bit into the lines, incising them. To make the print, Hollar would have inked the plate, wiped it clean, and then pressed paper against it, transferring the image. Look closely, and you can see how the varying densities of etched lines create subtle gradations of tone. The choice of etching is significant here. It allowed Hollar to reproduce this image multiple times, making it available to a wider audience. The social context is also critical. In the 17th century, European society was deeply involved in the transatlantic slave trade, and images like this one reflect both a fascination with and objectification of African people. The labor involved in the process and the subject depicted are at odds with each other. Considering materials, making, and context allows us to understand the complexity of this work.