Portret van Johannes à Marck 1745

This print of Johannes à Marck was made by Pieter Tanjé, sometime around the early 18th century. The artwork's appearance is very much the result of the intaglio printmaking process. The plate would have been painstakingly incised with lines, each one holding ink to create the final image. The material quality of the print—its fine lines, the delicate gradations of tone—speaks to the labor involved. Each mark is a testament to the artist's skill and the time invested in creating the image, a process that has imbued it with social and cultural significance. Here, we see an engagement with a skilled tradition of craftsmanship, one with its own history of creative practices. The artist has given this artwork a unique aesthetic in which the modes of production are closely related to labor and class. Paying attention to materials, making, and context allows us to understand the full meaning of the artwork, challenging the traditional distinctions between fine art and craft.