Reproductie van een gravure van een portret van Hendrick Goltzius door Gerard Edelinck before 1877

This is a reproduction of a engraving of a portrait of Hendrick Goltzius by Gerard Edelinck, made by Joseph Maes. Looking at this print, we can see a chain of influence, a web of artistic and institutional relationships. Goltzius was an influential Dutch printmaker and publisher, Edelinck a renowned engraver working for the French court, and Maes, in the 19th century, is producing a copy of Edelinck’s work. This act of reproduction raises questions about artistic originality, the role of the artist as an individual genius, and the social function of art. Was Maes’s print intended as a tribute to Goltzius and Edelinck? Or was it produced for a commercial market eager for affordable copies of famous portraits? To fully understand this work, we’d need to delve into the history of printmaking, exploring its relationship to the art market, the rise of museums and art education, and the changing status of the artist in modern society.