Illustration til H.C.Andersen, "Kejserens nye Klæder" 1870 - 1894

This illustration to Hans Christian Andersen's "The Emperor's New Clothes" is an engraving on paper, probably made in the 19th century. The anonymous artist uses a fine network of lines to create an illusion of depth, and a sense of the textures of fabric, skin, and wood. Engraving is an exacting medium. It requires a skilled hand to incise lines into a metal plate, which is then inked and printed. The process is laborious. Here, though, it is put to the service of a satirical narrative, with the emperor in bed, surrounded by concerned courtiers. There is a tension between the fine, time-consuming craft of engraving and the image’s subject, which is about vanity, power, and the gullibility of the elite. In a way, the print itself is a kind of "invisible garment," a product of specialized labor, designed to impress. Consider how materials and making always carry cultural meaning, and the way craft traditions often reflect and reinforce social hierarchies.