Cleveland Museum of Art

The Triumph of Truth over Envy, Plate 24

Maria Catharina Prestel

Date

1781

Medium

Etching and aquatint printed in brown ink with gold leaf

Culture

Germany, 18th century

Department

Prints

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

As drawings became increasingly sought-after items by collectors in the 1700s, enterprising printmakers created ever-more convincing reproductions for the expanding market. Aquatint, a relatively new etching technique at the time, allowed artists like Maria Catharina Prestel to more faithfully replicate the wide range of tones common in wash drawings. This is visible, for example, in the swirling clouds surrounding the raised fist of Truth. Prestel also developed a technique to translate the golden highlights of the original drawing. She printed additional inked lines to which she adhered powdered gold leaf while they were still wet. Maria Catharina Prestel and her husband reproduced famous drawings from collections across Europe.

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