Reproductie van een foto van Le Prince Charles de Lorraine door Jean-Joseph Jaquet 1854

Tony Voncken made this reproduction of a photograph of Le Prince Charles de Lorraine by Jean-Joseph Jaquet in the mid-19th century. This small image opens a window onto the complex relationship between photography, reproduction, and the construction of historical memory in 19th-century Europe. The image shows a sculpture of Charles de Lorraine, a prominent figure in the Austrian Netherlands. By reproducing a photograph of a sculpture, Voncken engages with the politics of imagery. He invites us to consider how the very act of replication shapes our understanding of the past. Was this to preserve history, or to comment on the artistic institutions that shaped it? Understanding this image requires us to consider the social conditions of artistic production in 19th-century Belgium and Europe. Studying the history of photography, the art market, and the institutional display of art may reveal the motivations and cultural meanings behind this reproduction.