Portret van M. van den Heuvell 1829 - 1863

This is Adrianus Johannes Ehnle's portrait of M. van den Heuvell, made using lithography, a printmaking process that democratized image production in the 19th century. Lithography involves drawing on a flat stone or metal plate with a greasy substance, then applying ink, which adheres only to the drawn areas. The print is then made by pressing paper against the plate. This process allowed for the relatively quick and inexpensive reproduction of images, making art more accessible to a wider audience. You can see in the delicate hatching and fine lines the inherent qualities of lithography, which lends itself to capturing nuanced details and tonal variations. Consider the social context: the rise of lithography coincided with the growth of the middle class and increasing demand for portraits and other images. By embracing this technique, Ehnle blurred the lines between art and industry, and by extension, high art and popular culture.