Portret van Adam Christoph Höfer op 61-jarige leeftijd 1765

Christian Fritzsch created this print of Adam Christoph Höfer in the 18th century. This is an engraving, meaning that the image you see was carved into a metal plate, and then printed onto paper. If you look closely, you can see the lines that the artist meticulously incised to create tone and shadow. The density of these lines speaks to the labor involved. Consider the number of passes required to build up the image, and how this affected the final outcome. The very fine and accurate lines showcase the skills involved in this traditional practice. It is easy to overlook the way that reproductive prints such as this played a central role in the visual culture of its time. It was a way to disseminate images widely, beyond the circles of wealthy patrons who would have commissioned paintings. Prints like this effectively democratized visual culture, though the labor was still painstaking.