Fotoreproductie van een prent naar het schilderij Mona Lisa before 1887

This photomechanical print of the Mona Lisa is anonymous, and we don’t know when it was made. But this reproductive technology is crucial to understanding its significance. Unlike a painting or sculpture, which bears the unmistakable touch of an artist's hand, the photomechanical print is a product of industrial processes. It relies on machinery, chemical reactions, and a division of labor that separates the image from the maker. While Leonardo Da Vinci poured years of labor into the original Mona Lisa, this image could be produced quickly and in vast quantities. The result is a readily available, portable, and endlessly reproducible version of a masterpiece. This reproduction challenges traditional ideas about artistic value, originality, and authenticity. This print democratizes art, making it accessible to a wider audience. It also reflects the rise of consumer culture, where art becomes a commodity, divorced from the artist's hand and tied to mass production.