Portret van Jean-Marie Mérille 1804

Jean-Baptiste Gautier created this portrait of Jean-Marie Mérille using etching, a printmaking technique, sometime in the late 18th or early 19th century. The process begins with a metal plate covered in a waxy ground. The artist scratches an image into this ground, exposing the metal. Then, acid is applied, biting into the exposed lines. Ink fills these etched lines, the plate is wiped clean, and then pressed onto paper, transferring the image. The sharp, precise lines of the etching lend themselves to the crisp depiction of Mérille's features and clothing. This printmaking technique allowed for the relatively quick reproduction of images, making art more accessible to a wider audience. It fueled the democratization of art during a period of significant social change. The production of such prints, while skilled, was also part of a larger economic system, connecting artistic practice to the worlds of labor and consumption. Considering the materials, making, and context, we can fully understand how the traditional distinctions between fine art and craft collapse.