Portret van Jean Baptiste Marie Pierre 1776

Editor: So, this is a print from 1776, "Portret van Jean Baptiste Marie Pierre," by Johann Gotthard Müller. It's an engraving. It’s quite striking in its detail. I’m curious – what stands out to you about this piece? Curator: Well, immediately my attention is drawn to the engraving process itself. Look closely at the lines; they define form, texture, and light. It speaks to the laborious, skilled craft involved in producing these images, a process often overlooked in favour of the 'artistic' creation of the painting itself. How does considering the labour involved change your view? Editor: It makes me think about the economics of art at the time. Engravings like this would have been a means of distributing images, democratizing access to art... making it more of a commodity. Curator: Precisely. The creation and circulation of this print implicates it in a broader network of production, consumption, and even class. The 'high art' of portraiture becomes intertwined with the more ‘pedestrian’ realm of printmaking. What does the portrait subject’s tools imply in all of this? Editor: Seeing the sitter, an artist, with his tools reinforces that connection to labor, even within the fine arts. It’s not just about genius; it's about skill and work. Something to consider... I see now a deep material connection embedded in this image beyond just surface aesthetics! Curator: Exactly, and hopefully that has shed some new light on this engraving’s role in that context!