Fotoreproductie van een gravure naar De kroning van Maria door Pinturicchio in het Vaticaan before 1868

This is a photoreproduction of an engraving of Pinturicchio’s “Coronation of Maria” in the Vatican, made by an anonymous artist. Engraving is an intaglio process, meaning that the image is incised into a surface, traditionally a metal plate. The engraver would have used a tool called a burin to cut lines into the metal, creating grooves that would hold ink. The plate is then inked, and the surface wiped clean, leaving ink only in the engraved lines. Finally, the image is transferred to paper under high pressure. The crispness and precision of the engraved lines, visible in the reproduction, highlight the skill required for this labor-intensive process. But the photoreproduction raises interesting questions. Was it made to disseminate Pinturicchio’s original more widely? Or perhaps to document the engraving itself, acknowledging its own artistic merit? Ultimately, this work invites us to consider the complex relationship between artistic creation, reproduction, and the value we place on both original artworks and the skilled labor involved in their making.