Portret van Christiaan IV, koning van Denemarken en Noorwegen 1612 - 1652

This portrait of King Christian IV of Denmark and Norway was made by an anonymous artist using engraving, a printmaking process. The design is incised into a flat surface of metal, and then ink is pressed into these lines and transferred to paper. The resulting image is all about line: look closely and you’ll see that the artist built up tone and shading through the density and direction of these marks, giving the king’s face a sense of depth and realism. Engraving was a highly skilled and laborious process. The engraver used specialized tools to create the fine lines, and would have needed a deep understanding of anatomy and perspective to create a convincing likeness. This kind of print was a valuable commodity, and the labour involved speaks to the social and political status of its royal subject. So next time you see an engraving, take a moment to appreciate the work that went into it and how these processes imbue the artwork with cultural significance.