Pilate Washing His Hands (after Durer; Pl. 9, the Engraved Passion)

Charles Amand-Durand

In 1869 Charles Amand-Durand, already an established engraver, was hired by the Louvre to revive the plates and blocks of Old Masters, as many of the prints available to the public were printed from worn-down specimens that no longer held a crisp line, or were printed on papers of poor quality that did not hold up over time. As such, Amand-Durand spent much of his life tracking down first and second state prints from which to recreate the plate using helio/photogravure, rather than using the blocks and plates.

Amand-Durand's process could take up to six months to recreate one print, aiming for the accuracy of 1/1000mm. He developed a technique that involved exposing materials such as silver, mercury, copper, steel, and asphalt from the Dead Sea to electric light, and carefully incising the linework of Rembrandt, Durer, and other 15th and 16th century Old masters into the plate. His skill was so exact that the Parisian government banned the use of his techniques out of fear that they would be used to print money. His reproductions were sought after by major institutions such as the Bibliotheque Nationale.