Allegorie van de kunsten 1788

This delicate etching, Allegorie van de kunsten, was made by Christian Bernhard Rode in the eighteenth century. The printmaking process hinges on a metal plate, in this case most likely copper, being incised with lines, which then hold ink. Pressure is then applied to transfer the image onto paper. The fineness of the lines here speaks to the labor and skill involved in the work. Though printed, this image pretends to the status of ‘fine art’. We see allegorical figures – putti – representing sculpture, music, and painting, surrounding a statue of…well, we are meant to assume, Art itself. The whole composition rests on a plinth of classical design, connoting permanence and authority. However, the print medium, with its inherent reproducibility, has a leveling effect. What was once the preserve of the wealthy could now be much more broadly consumed, and this of course would eventually transform both art and society. So, the very material of this work tells a story of social change.