Portret van Antoine Laurent Lavoisier c. 1830

Jean-Mathias Fontaine made this portrait of Antoine Laurent Lavoisier sometime between 1791 and 1853 using a printmaking technique, probably engraving or etching. This method is itself an industrial process, involving the application of acid to a metal plate, which is then inked and pressed onto paper. Consider the material qualities of the print: the fine lines, the tonal gradations, and the way the image emerges from the blank page. These effects are achieved through skilled labor, of course, but also through a division of labor. This print would have been relatively easy to reproduce compared to a unique painting, aligning it with the burgeoning industrial processes that Lavoisier himself would have helped to foster. By focusing on the materiality and making of this print, we can appreciate the social context in which it was created and consumed. This challenges us to reconsider traditional hierarchies between art, craft, and industry, and to understand the complex relationship between art and social issues of labor, politics, and consumption.