Gezicht op een pont te Norwich before 1900

This is a print by J.W. Hallam, called “Gezicht op een pont te Norwich.” The artist, medium, and date are unknown. This print is made with the method of reproduction known as lithography, a process that relies on the antipathy of oil and water. The image is drawn on a flat stone or metal plate with a greasy crayon, then treated with chemicals so that only the drawn areas will hold ink. Lithography democratized image-making, allowing for mass production and wider distribution. The texture of the image is fairly smooth, as the material retains the fine strokes of the artist’s hand, and allowing the creation of nuanced tonal gradations. The very nature of printmaking allows for the wide circulation of images, and subsequently, opinions and ideologies. The work, and its method of creation, invites us to consider the social and economic forces that drive artistic production and distribution. It challenges the traditional hierarchy between original art and reproduction.