Portræt af maleren Johan Mandelberg 1773

This is J.F. Clemens' portrait of the painter Johan Mandelberg, made using engraving, a printmaking process dependent on the precise, controlled removal of material. The engraver would have used a tool called a burin to manually carve lines into a metal plate. This painstaking process required immense skill and physical effort, a testament to the engraver's labor. The depth and density of these lines determine the amount of ink held, and thus the tonal range of the print. Look closely, and you'll notice the extraordinary detail achieved, from the delicate rendering of Mandelberg's face to the patterned borders. Engraving emerged as a key technology in the early modern period, facilitating the dissemination of images and ideas, essential to commerce, science and art. Prints like these existed within a complex economy of production, distribution, and consumption. Considering the material origins and the labor involved allows us to appreciate the print not just as an image, but as a product of skilled craft and a reflection of its time.