Fort Rammekens ingenomen, 1573 c. 1574 - 1578

Curator: This is "Fort Rammekens ingenomen, 1573," an engraving by Frans Hogenberg, likely created sometime between 1574 and 1578. It depicts a historical event. Editor: It's incredibly detailed for such a small print! All those tiny figures... it gives me a real sense of the chaos of battle. I'm curious, what stands out to you about this piece? Curator: I'm particularly drawn to how the printmaking process itself – the labor, the repeatable nature of the medium – democratizes this image of warfare. Hogenberg’s choice of engraving makes this historical account widely accessible, unlike, say, a unique painting commissioned by the elite. Consider the material: what stories does the paper stock and ink tell us? Editor: So you're saying the *means* of production is as important as the scene depicted? Curator: Precisely! The choice of printmaking invites us to think about its distribution and consumption. Who was buying these prints? What political agenda did it serve to circulate this image of conquest? Did the artist have total freedom to disseminate the account depicted, or was he bound by certain socio-economic considerations to produce it for a given clientele? Editor: That shifts my perspective completely! I was initially focused on the historical narrative, but now I'm thinking about the print's function as a kind of propaganda. I wonder if we can read anything of this social background into its form as well? Curator: Exactly! Now we are considering the cultural biography of this historical artifact in a different, wider frame, and it is all thanks to its mode of manufacture and the system that gave it meaning. Editor: Fascinating. I’ll definitely be paying more attention to the materiality of art in the future! Thanks so much for sharing your insights.