Iris met jachtstilleven en horloge 1725 - 1825

This is an engraving by François Lucas, made sometime around the mid-18th century. The material is deceptively simple: ink on paper. But the technique—intaglio printmaking—is complex. The image is created by incising lines into a metal plate, applying ink, and then pressing the plate onto paper with considerable force. Look closely, and you'll see how Lucas used this process to create a world of tonal variation. The cross-hatched lines build up the shadows, giving depth to the image. The medium also allowed for the mass production of images, catering to a growing market for art among the middle classes. Engravings like this one played a vital role in circulating images and ideas, acting as a kind of pre-photographic visual internet. Lucas was not just an artist, but also part of a sophisticated system of labor, commerce, and consumption. Appreciating the labor of artistic production helps us understand its wider significance.