Birth of Saint John the Baptist 1555 - 1588

Diana Scultori made this print, The Birth of Saint John the Baptist, in the late sixteenth century. She was unusual for being a woman who worked as a professional printmaker, a laborious process. The image was made by incising lines into a copper plate with a tool called a burin. The plate would then be inked, and pressed against a sheet of paper, transferring the image. What makes the print so compelling is Scultori’s mastery over the burin, seen in the variations of light and shade across the scene. While printmaking could allow for wide distribution of images, it was also a skilled craft, requiring precision, patience, and an intimate understanding of materials. Scultori elevated this reproductive medium to high art. By focusing on the skillful labor involved, we appreciate how Scultori challenged the traditional hierarchy between the fine and the applied arts.