The Little Courier c. 1496

Albrecht Durer made this small print on paper, using the laborious technique of metal engraving. He would have used a tool called a burin to manually carve lines into a copper plate, which were then inked to create the image. Look at the incredible level of detail he achieved. Notice the texture of the horse's coat, the folds in the rider's clothing, and the landscape in the background. Durer was a master of observation, and he used the medium of engraving to capture the world around him with incredible precision. The labor-intensive process of engraving was well-suited to Durer's meticulous approach. It allowed him to create prints that were both technically impressive and artistically beautiful. Prints like these were luxury goods, circulated among collectors, artists and artisans. Durer's technical virtuosity elevated printmaking to the level of high art, and his prints helped to establish his reputation as one of the greatest artists of the Renaissance. Ultimately, the meaning of this image lies in the intimate connection between material, process, and context, which challenges the traditional hierarchies of art and craft.