Drie mannen rond een vrouw op haar ziekbed 1798 - 1811

This print, made by Reinier Vinkeles, likely dates to the late 18th or early 19th century. It is rendered in the technique of engraving, a meticulous process of incising lines into a metal plate, inking it, and then transferring the image to paper. Engraving demands a high level of skill. Vinkeles likely trained in a workshop, mastering the use of specialized tools to achieve the fine detail we see here, especially in the rendering of the figures' faces and clothing. The controlled lines create a sense of formality, appropriate to the gravity of the scene: three men attending a woman on her sickbed. The print would have been made as one of many, and sold to a relatively prosperous clientele. Consider the labor involved – from the mining of the metal to the making of the paper, all the way through to the skilled work of the engraver. Looking closely, we realize that even a small print like this one is a product of considerable social and economic forces.