Portret van een dame, waarschijnlijk Madame de Mouchy 1746

Louis Surugue made this portrait print of Madame de Mouchy on paper, using engraving and etching. These processes involve laborious, repetitive work with specialized tools to create an image. Look closely, and you will see the many fine lines, which bring volume and tone to the print. The artist used a sharp tool called a burin to directly incise lines onto a metal plate, and acid to bite lines into the metal. These marks hold ink, which is then transferred to paper under high pressure in a printing press. Engraving and etching were critical to disseminating images in eighteenth-century Europe, and this print captures the opulence of aristocratic fashion. Yet, in its very making, it also reflects the labour that underpins this lifestyle, from the skilled engraver to the many hands involved in textile production. So next time you encounter a print like this, consider the complex social world embedded in its very fabric. The artist was not simply creating a beautiful image, but also participating in a network of production and consumption that shaped early modern Europe.