Portret van Reinhold Curike 1685 - 1721

This is a portrait of Reinhold Curike by Jan van Munnickhuysen, made sometime in the late 17th century. It’s an engraving, meaning that the image was incised into a metal plate, likely copper, with a tool called a burin. Ink was then applied to the plate and wiped away, remaining only in the carved lines. The plate was then pressed onto paper, transferring the image. The striking thing about engravings is their graphic quality. Notice the fineness of the lines, and how they create areas of light and shadow through density and direction. This was a highly skilled, laborious process, and the resulting prints would have been relatively precious objects, affordable to a growing middle class. Engravings played a crucial role in the development of visual culture, allowing images to be widely disseminated and consumed, influencing everything from fashion to politics. By understanding the materials and processes involved, we can appreciate the social and cultural significance of this seemingly simple portrait.