Portret van Willem IV, prins van Oranje-Nassau 1749 - 1759

This print of Willem IV, Prince of Orange-Nassau, was made by Jacob Houbraken, probably sometime around 1759. It is an engraving, meaning that the image was incised into a metal plate, likely copper. Ink was then applied to the plate, and the excess wiped away, leaving ink only in the recesses. The plate would then have been pressed onto a sheet of paper, leaving the image. Engraving is a highly skilled process. To make a portrait like this, the artist would have needed not only technical expertise with the tools, but also an intimate knowledge of the conventions of portraiture. The amount of labor that went into this relatively small image is impressive. Notice too, the texture of the lines, achieved by using different tools to create varying effects of light and shadow. This print is as much a feat of material transformation as it is an image, collapsing any distinction between art and craft.