Fotoreproductie van dertien etsen van portretten van muzikanten en onbekende mensen en landschappen door Willem Linnig (II) before 1896

This is a photo reproduction of thirteen etchings by Willem Linnig (II), featuring portraits of musicians, unknown people, and landscapes, made by Alexandre van Antro. The etchings themselves would have begun with the meticulous labor of incising an image onto a metal plate. A painstaking task requiring skill and precision. These plates were likely mass-produced, and this reproduction presents a collection of them, a kind of portfolio. These are not unique works, rather commodities. Note the contrast between the skilled work involved in the etching process, versus the mechanical reproduction. This points to the changing status of art production. The images are of various sizes and subjects, but all share a similar aesthetic of careful detail, capturing likeness and scenery. What was once a laborious process becomes an easily repeatable image. Considering the social context of this work, it highlights the intersection of artistic skill, and the rise of mechanical reproduction, democratizing access to art while also shifting its value in a rapidly industrializing world.