Portret van Lady Smith en haar drie kinderen 1738 - 1815

This print of Lady Smith and her three children was made by Francesco Bartolozzi, sometime around the late 18th century. Bartolozzi was a master of the “crayon manner,” a printmaking technique that mimics the soft, chalky look of a drawing. To create it, he used a tool called a roulette, which is a small wheel covered in tiny points. By rolling this across a copper plate, he created a dense field of tiny dots that would hold ink. Look closely, and you'll see that the whole image is composed of these little stipples. It’s an incredibly labor-intensive process, but it allowed Bartolozzi to capture the delicate textures of Lady Smith's lace shawl, her feathered hat, and the children’s flowing hair. In its own way, the print speaks to the culture of consumption that defined the era, making luxury goods accessible to a wider audience through the repeatable medium of print. By focusing on process, we can appreciate not only the image itself, but also the immense skill and effort that went into its creation.