William Shakespeare 1827

This print of William Shakespeare was created by William Holl the Elder, sometime before his death in 1838, using a process called chine collé. In this technique, a thin piece of paper – in this case, the one with the image of Shakespeare – is adhered to a larger, more substantial sheet during the printing process. Look closely, and you can see the slightly different texture and tone of the central image, compared to the broader sheet. Chine collé allowed for finer detail and a wider range of tones than could be achieved with a single sheet of paper. It was a favored technique for reproducing portraits, allowing the printmaker to capture the likeness of the sitter with great accuracy. The process itself involved considerable skill and labor. Each print required careful alignment and pressure to ensure a perfect bond between the two sheets of paper. So next time you look at a print, consider the hand work that went into its making. In its way, that labor is just as impressive as the image itself.