Portret van Helena Fourment met bontmantel 1861 - 1889

This is William Unger’s “Portrait of Helena Fourment with a Fur Coat,” made using etching techniques. Look closely, and you’ll notice that the image isn’t drawn on the plate. Instead, lines are bitten into it with acid. The etcher protects certain areas with wax, then submerges the plate. The longer the acid bath, the deeper the lines, and the darker they’ll appear when printed. Unger would have had to be highly skilled, controlling the biting process to achieve the subtle tonal gradations we see here. Think of all the steps involved. Preparing the plate, applying the wax resist, the careful work with acid, inking the plate, and finally running it through the press. Each stage demands precision. Unger uses these mechanical processes of reproduction to translate the sensuality of the original painting, but also to make it widely available to a growing art market. The result is a testament to the power of craft, cleverly deployed in the service of mass culture.