Portret van Archibald Bower c. 1750 - 1765

Curator: Looking at this print, my first impression is that Archibald Bower appears almost… melancholy. He has such a pensiveness in his eyes. Editor: This engraving, "Portret van Archibald Bower," dates roughly from 1750 to 1765 and is attributed to James McArdell. The Rijksmuseum houses it. The printmaking process itself involved skilled labor—consider the engraver’s meticulous hand, transferring the original image onto a copper or steel plate to produce this reproduction. Curator: Reproduction... but with such a palpable atmosphere! The way the light falls, almost exclusively on his face and hands, creates an immediate intimacy, as if he is lost in contemplation. Editor: What I find particularly compelling is considering how McArdell’s process affected Bower's public image. Engravings like this would have democratized access to portraiture, allowing for a wider dissemination of Bower’s likeness, but simultaneously reducing his physical presence to something reproducible. Curator: Yes! Almost flattening him into an ideal. There's a curious contrast with the detail given to his hands – see how his left gently steadies the book, while his right rests expressively on his chest, seemingly searching for solace or perhaps making some kind of solemn vow. The hands tell such a vivid story. Editor: Consider also the material realities—the cost of paper, ink, and the engraver’s labor, alongside systems of distribution. These all determine how art enters circulation and how Bower's identity transforms in transit, from person to printed image. It definitely situates Bower within the expanding print culture of the eighteenth century, but does this make it 'art'? Curator: Oh, absolutely! This engraving transcends mere reproduction; it’s alchemic. The texture rendered with line alone...it's breathtaking. He still transcends the material! Editor: Thinking about art’s role and reach really shapes how we interpret those pensively-placed hands. This makes you consider that in the creation of portraits—paint, or indeed print—there's always this interesting friction. Curator: True enough, the image, the object in your hands, really holds all of those questions beautifully... Editor: Precisely, it is in those material dialogues that true depth emerges from an image.