[Reproduction of The Death of Socrates by Jacques-Louis David]

The subject of this photographic engraving is immediately recognizable despite its lack of detail and areas of image loss. Such shortcomings are due to the novelty of the printing process—which reproduced a daguerreotype in ink by transforming it into a printable, etched matrix—rather than the source material, a celebrated engraving by Jean-Baptiste Massard after David’s 1787 painting, The Death of Socrates (MMA 31.45). Early attempts at photomechanical reproduction were driven by professional competition to reproduce the unique daguerreotype as well as by the financial allure of creating a nascent industry aimed at artists, scientists, and the publishing industry. In this regard, Massard’s print was a fitting subject. Originally produced in collaboration with David to disseminate the lofty ideals of his painting, the engravings were viewed as commercial products after the painter’s death in 1825 and became the subject of a lawsuit to determine who controlled the proceeds from their sale.