Plattegrond en doorsnede van een Engels fort tijdens het beleg van Bergen op Zoom, 1622 1627 - 1629

This is a page from a book, printed in 1622 by Franciscus van Schooten, showing a plan and section of an English fort during the siege of Bergen op Zoom. The image is a product of the printing press, a technology that by this time had been around for a couple of centuries, and thus was relatively mature. However, each page still represented a significant amount of hand labor. From the making of the ink, to the typesetting, to the operation of the press, skilled hands were essential. The lines are crisp and precise, possible because the image was printed from an engraved plate, meaning that the lines were physically cut into the surface of the metal. This required tremendous skill and control. Note, too, that the main subject is a fortress - a built structure created through the strenuous labour of digging earth, laying stone, and erecting timber structures. The print thus gives us a telescoped view onto the technologies and labors of war. It invites us to consider the human cost involved in military conflict, even in what appears to be a neutrally descriptive illustration.