Anna Margrethe Bülow 1805 - 1806

J.F. Clemens made this portrait of Anna Margrethe Bülow using engraving, a printmaking technique, sometime before 1831. The image starts as a drawing incised into a metal plate. Ink is then applied and the surface wiped clean, leaving ink only in the carved lines. The plate is pressed to paper, transferring the image. Consider the engraver’s skilled labor, meticulously rendering tone through tiny, deliberate marks. This wasn’t just reproduction, but a craft in itself. Printmaking allowed for wider distribution of images, playing a key role in shaping public perception and identity. Engravings like this one made portraits accessible to a broader audience than painted portraits, even if the sitter was an aristocrat. In its own way, the print democratizes the image, but it also highlights the labor involved in image-making. Appreciating this means looking beyond the subject to the social context of its production.