Miravan laat het graf van zijn voorouders openbreken 1772

Valentine Green made this mezzotint, "Miravan laat het graf van zijn voorouders openbreken," sometime before his death in 1813. It’s an image made through labor intensive processes. The copperplate was worked from dark to light, using a tool called a rocker to create a dense field of burrs, which, if printed at this stage, would result in solid black. Then, using a variety of scrapers and burnishers, Green smoothed away areas to varying degrees, creating the image’s tonal range. The final print is a testament to skill and patience, requiring Green to coax subtle gradations from the resistant metal. This illustrates an important point: even in a print, apparently reproducible, the hand is still in evidence. This underscores the value we place not just on the image, but the labor required to produce it. The final result asks us to consider the profound social and cultural implications embedded within the artwork.