Fotoreproductie van een prent naar een fresco van Esau die vraagt om zegening van Isaak door Rafaël voor de loggia's in het Vaticaan before 1861

This is a photo reproduction by Gustav Schauer of a print of a fresco by Raphael, depicting Esau asking Isaac for a blessing, likely made in the late 19th century. Look closely, and you’ll see that this isn’t just a straightforward copy. It’s a translation across media, each with its own inherent qualities. Raphael’s original fresco, painted directly onto wet plaster, has a monumental scale and a subtle, matte surface. Schauer’s photo reproduction is much smaller, mass-produced, and has a different kind of visual presence altogether. The reproductive printmaking trades, and photography too, were very important to the development of modern visual culture. They allowed images, often of unique artworks, to circulate widely. This obviously had a democratizing effect, but it also changed the status of those original artworks. They became source material, valued less for their physical presence than for their reproducible image. It certainly makes you wonder, what's lost and what's gained in this act of mechanical reproduction?