Landschap met ruïnes en putti 1540 - 1556

This print, "Landschap met ruïnes en putti," was made by Léon Davent, probably in the 1540s or 50s, using etching, a printmaking technique where acid is used to corrode the lines of the image on a metal plate. The network of fine lines has a distinctive quality of ink on paper, with the various hatching and cross-hatching implying shadow and volume. We see an imagined landscape filled with classical ruins animated by playing "putti," or cherubic figures. The architectural forms depicted would have been familiar to Davent and his audience through engravings and drawings circulating at the time. The image presents a fantasy of labor, with classical forms in decay, their original purposes forgotten. Meanwhile, the "putti" are entirely at leisure. By considering the printmaking process itself, we can appreciate Davent’s labor in creating this scene, translating architectural forms into a reproducible image. This print, like many others, served to disseminate aesthetic ideas far and wide, influencing design and taste. Examining the making and social context of this artwork, we gain a richer understanding of its place in history.