Johan Daniel Herholdt 1830

This portrait of Johan Daniel Herholdt was made by Moses Mendel, who sketched it from life. The medium is lithography, a printmaking technique that democratized image-making in the 19th century. The process involves drawing on a flat stone with a greasy crayon, then treating the stone so that ink adheres only to the drawn areas. This print, made from the stone, captures subtle tonal variations, giving Herholdt's face a lifelike quality. The materiality of lithography, with its reliance on readily available stone and relatively simple tools, made it accessible to a wide range of artists, not just those trained in traditional fine art techniques. Looking closely, you can almost feel the texture of the lithographic crayon on the stone, and see how Mendel used this humble method to convey a sense of dignity and status. This reminds us that artistic skill can be found in unexpected places.