The Holy Family with the Infant Saint John in a Landscape c. 1506 - 1512

This print of the Holy Family with the Infant Saint John was made in the early 16th century by Benedetto Montagna, using the intaglio process. Montagna would have used a sharp tool called a burin to incise lines into a copper plate. The plate was then inked, and the surface wiped clean, leaving ink only in the engraved lines. Finally, it was pressed against a sheet of paper, transferring the image. Look closely, and you’ll see how the material fact of the metal plate influences the image: the composition is built up through carefully built-up parallel lines, which create a sense of tone and depth. This technique speaks to the wider social context of printmaking at the time, which was increasingly important to disseminate images and ideas. This wasn’t just about religious devotion; it was a business, involving skilled labor and the circulation of commodities. By appreciating the labor and materials that went into this print, we can understand it as more than just a devotional image.