Fotoreproductie van een geschilderd portret van een onbekende vrouw c. 1865 - 1900

This photogravure, made by Laurens Lodewijk Kleijn, reproduces a painted portrait of an unknown woman. The photographic process itself speaks volumes. Rather than directly capturing the world, it captures an image of a painting, layering one form of representation on top of another. Think about the social implications. Photography, though requiring skill, was becoming more accessible, and offered a way to reproduce images, including portraits, at a lower cost than commissioning an original painting. This shift democratized image-making, making it available to a wider audience. This photogravure is more than just a picture; it's a document of a changing world, where traditional artistic skills were being augmented, and challenged, by new technologies. By considering the materials and processes, we can understand the wider social and economic forces at play.