Portret van Jacques de la Faille 1820 - 1872

Hendrik Abraham Klinkhamer made this pencil drawing of Jacques de la Faille. It’s a delicate rendering, built up from countless tiny marks on paper. Look closely, and you can see how Klinkhamer used hatching to create volume, particularly on the sitter’s elaborate ruff and armor. He wasn't just making a likeness. He also captured the texture of fabric and metal. The drawing becomes a kind of inventory of luxury goods, signifiers of wealth and status. But consider too the labor required to produce this portrait. Beyond the artist’s hand, there’s the unseen work of the paper-maker, the graphite miner, and of course, the tailor and armorer who originally created the garments. These are all traces of production. So, this seemingly simple drawing invites us to consider the complex web of making and exchange that surrounds any artwork. By attending to these often-overlooked aspects, we can gain a richer understanding of the image itself, and the society that produced it.