Portret van Madame Law, ca. 1720 1720 - 1722

Claude Duflos made this engraving of Madame Law around 1720, likely on a copper plate. Look closely, and you'll see how the fine lines create areas of dark and light, describing her fashionable dress, feathered hat, and fur stole. Engraving is an indirect process; the artist doesn't draw directly onto the print, but rather carves an image into a plate. Ink is then applied to the recessed lines, and the image is transferred to paper through a press. The resulting image, like this one, has a crisp, precise character well-suited to portraiture. But this isn't just a likeness. The poem below the image suggests that Madame Law, wife of the controversial financier John Law, was seen as both a figure of power and of vulnerability. The print itself, as a multiple, participates in this duality. It captures her likeness while also distributing it widely, making her image subject to public consumption.