Portret van kardinaal Melchior de Polignac 1713 - 1780

Editor: Here we have a portrait, identified as "Portret van kardinaal Melchior de Polignac", made sometime between 1713 and 1780 by Rocco Pozzi. It's an engraving, so a print. I'm immediately struck by the starkness of the image and how the circular frame around the subject isolates him. What aspects jump out to you? Curator: Immediately, my focus is drawn to the materials and methods employed. The very act of engraving – a process demanding intense labor and skill – transforms the image into a commodity, reproducible and therefore democratized to a certain degree. How does the inherent value associated with a portrait, usually for the elite, shift when made available through printmaking? Editor: That's interesting. I hadn't considered the accessibility aspect of a print. How does that influence our understanding of Cardinal Polignac himself? Curator: The materiality speaks volumes. Consider the paper: where was it sourced? Who processed it? Then there’s the ink and the printing press. The process embodies networks of labor and production that stretch far beyond the artist's studio. These are all factors in shaping and disseminating the Cardinal's image. Is he being presented as a figurehead supported by vast, invisible infrastructures? Editor: So you're saying the image's power lies not just in who it depicts, but also in the complex industrial process that allowed it to exist and circulate? Curator: Precisely. It prompts us to challenge traditional notions of authorship and originality. We are encouraged to consider the means of production as integral to the artwork’s meaning. Were there many versions of the engraving, cheap ones, expensive ones? That would change our interpretation entirely. Editor: I've never considered printmaking in quite that way. I guess I always focused on the image itself, but you're right, the process and the materiality tell a different story. Thank you. Curator: Likewise. Examining the social and material contexts has truly enriched my understanding of this portrait.