Portret van Johann Andreas Danz 1695 - 1725

This print of Johann Andreas Danz was made by Christoph Weigel, sometime around the turn of the 18th century. It’s an engraving, meaning the image was incised into a metal plate, which was then inked and printed onto paper. Look closely, and you’ll see the visual language of reproduction at work. There are definite lines and hatched areas, where Weigel’s tool bit into the metal. He was part of a large industry dedicated to the dissemination of images. These were the days before photography, and prints were essential to spreading information – and of course, establishing status. Consider Danz’s elaborate wig. It speaks volumes about his position in society; so too does the very fact of his being portrayed. Both the wig and the portrait itself would have been costly. Thinking about prints like this helps us understand how skills, materials, and social context are always intertwined. It challenges us to see beyond the image, and recognize the labor and power relations involved in its making.