Portret van Pietro Perugino c. 1826 - 1852

Nicolas Maurin made this portrait of Pietro Perugino out of printmaking. The lithographic process involves drawing on a flat stone or metal plate with a greasy crayon, then treating the surface so that ink adheres only to the drawn areas. This print has all the hallmarks of the process, from the delicate gradations of tone to the slightly granular texture. This portrait is really interesting when you think about the social context of printmaking. It allowed for the wide distribution of images, making art more accessible to a broader public, but it also transformed the very idea of what art could be. Rather than a unique object, the print exists in multiples, raising questions about authenticity, value, and the role of the artist. Maurin’s print invites us to consider how an artwork’s meaning is shaped not only by what it depicts, but by the material and processes that brought it into being.