Portret van Ferry Carondelet 1676

Jan van Somer made this print of Ferry Carondelet using engraving, a process of incising lines into a metal plate that would hold ink. Look closely, and you will see the extraordinary level of detail achieved through careful labor. See how the artist has worked minute hatches in different directions to give the impression of tone and shadow. Van Somer would have used a tool called a burin to gouge out these lines. Because of the pressure required to do this, engraving has a crisp, precise quality, different from the more fluid effect of etching. Note the ermine trim on Carondelet’s robe. It has been rendered using the same controlled technique as the rest of the image. Consider how the artist is not only representing status, but enacting it through a time-consuming process. Ultimately, the quality of printmaking depends on the hand and eye of the maker. Appreciating these skills helps us to understand these images as products of skilled labor, not just windows onto the world.