Fotoreproductie van een prent naar het schilderij Madonna della Scodella before 1876

This photomechanical print reproduces Correggio's celebrated painting, Madonna della Scodella, using technologies of reproduction. Prints like this one, originally made with light-sensitive chemicals, are interesting to consider within the framework of labor and skill. The development of photomechanical processes shifted reproductive work away from the hand of the artisan and towards industrial production. This dramatically changed the status of images and, indeed, the definition of art itself. Looking closely, we might ask ourselves what is gained and lost in this transition from hand-made to machine-made? Though anonymous, this print speaks volumes about the changing nature of art, labor, and value in the age of mechanical reproduction. It invites us to consider the social and economic forces that shape our understanding of art, challenging the traditional hierarchy between original and copy, fine art and industrial craft.