Portret van mevrouw Baud c. 1851 - 1883

This is Johan Hendrik Hoffmeister’s portrait of Mrs. Baud, a lithograph on paper. Lithography is a printmaking process, which depends on the chemical repulsion between oil and water. The artist would have begun by drawing the composition with a greasy crayon or tusche wash on a prepared stone or metal plate. This surface is then treated so that the image attracts ink and the non-image areas repel it. The printmaker then dampens the stone and applies oil-based ink, which adheres only to the drawn image. Paper is pressed against the surface, transferring the ink and creating a print. The lithographic process facilitated the circulation of images during the 19th century, in an era of burgeoning mass media. In this portrait, the materiality and mechanical production are themselves freighted with social meaning, signaling a shift towards democratization, and celebrating the achievements of the middle class.