Portret van Christian Fürchtegott Gellert 1775

Johann Elias Haid created this portrait of Christian Fürchtegott Gellert sometime in the 1700s, using the printmaking technique of mezzotint. Now, mezzotint is interesting: it is an intaglio process, meaning that the image is incised into the metal plate, but it doesn't rely on acids, like etching. Instead, the plate is roughened evenly, using a tool called a rocker. If you were to print the plate at this stage, it would come out as solid black. The image is then created by selectively burnishing areas of the plate smooth again, so they will hold less ink. The deepest shadows are left untouched, the highlights polished to a mirror sheen. Considered in this light, the portrait is really an object lesson in skilled labor. Haid worked from dark to light, investing time and effort to bring Gellert’s likeness out of the gloom. The result, which could be reproduced and sold, gives tangible form to Enlightenment ideals of intellectual labor, and its rewards.