Portret van Jane Stanhope met haar twee kinderen Possibly 1789

This print, depicting Jane Stanhope with her two children, was made by Francesco Bartolozzi, who lived from 1728 to 1815. Bartolozzi was a master of the printmaking technique known as stipple engraving. It's a painstaking process, involving the creation of thousands of tiny dots on a copper plate, which when printed create an image with soft, subtle gradations of tone. This method allowed for the reproduction of paintings and drawings, making art more accessible to a wider audience. Consider the labor involved in producing such a print. Each dot, each line, is a testament to the engraver's skill and patience. In a time before photography, prints like these played a crucial role in disseminating images and ideas, connecting people across distances through the shared experience of visual culture. The artistry and labor-intensive production of stipple engraving reminds us of the value of skilled handcraft in a world increasingly dominated by mechanical reproduction.