Jagers vangen en doden krokodillen 1605

This print, made by Antonio Tempesta around the turn of the 17th century, shows crocodile hunting in Egypt. As an engraving, the image is made through a labor-intensive process of incising lines into a metal plate, inking it, and then pressing it onto paper. Tempesta was known for his dynamic, narrative scenes, and here he depicts a coordinated, violent act. The hunters, armed with clubs and ropes, subdue and kill the crocodiles. Look closely, and you can see the textures he creates to suggest the reptile’s tough skin, and the musculature of the hunters. The print's stark black and white palette emphasizes the drama of the scene, turning it into a play of light and shadow. In his time, it was part of a booming print market, which made images and information widely available. So, while the scene depicts a local practice, the means of its representation ties it to a much wider economy of production and consumption. The print is a reminder that even seemingly straightforward images are the result of complex processes, imbued with cultural and economic significance.