Design: Ages, from Encyclopédie 1762 - 1777

This print, titled "Design: Ages," was made by Benoit Louis Prevost sometime in the late 18th century, and it comes from the famous "Encyclopédie" of Denis Diderot. The medium here is crucial: engraving, a printmaking technique that involves carefully incising an image into a metal plate, inking it, and then pressing it onto paper. This was a painstaking process, requiring considerable skill. While not exactly mass production, the "Encyclopédie" was an ambitious publishing venture, aiming to gather all human knowledge and make it accessible. This print shows the different ages of man and woman, rendered in an austere neoclassical style. The lines are crisp and precise, reflecting the engraver's mastery. But think about the implications of this project: the "Encyclopédie" itself was a product of Enlightenment ideals, a belief in reason and progress, and a desire to classify and control the world through knowledge. In this context, even a seemingly simple print like this becomes a statement about the power of information and its dissemination. It is a product of craft, yes, but also of a particular moment in social and intellectual history.