Portret van Johann Joachim Mühlberger 1680

This is a portrait of Johann Joachim Mühlberger, made by Johann Alexander Böner. It's an engraving, a printmaking technique involving carving an image into a metal plate, inking the plate, and then pressing it onto paper. The sharp, precise lines you see are the result of Böner’s skill with the burin, the engraving tool. Note the incredible detail: Mühlberger's hair, the folds of his robes, and the elaborate lettering. These are all products of meticulous, time-consuming labor. The material itself, the metal plate, would have demanded physical effort to manipulate, and a high degree of control. Engravings like this were a key method of disseminating information and images in the early modern period. The relatively low cost of prints, compared to paintings, meant that portraits like this made images of important figures available to a wider audience. As such, this portrait isn't just an artwork; it's a document of social status, crafted through skilled labor and disseminated through an emerging market for images. The print sits at the intersection of art, craft, and early capitalism.