Vignet met het hoofd van de Tijd (Chronos) met daarop een zandloper 1639 - 1643

This is an etching, made by Claude Mellan sometime in the 17th century. It is an image of Chronos, the personification of Time, with an hourglass on his head, and decorative flourishes to either side. As an etching, this image begins with a metal plate, likely copper. The plate would have been coated with a waxy, acid-resistant ground, and then the artist scratched away lines to expose the metal beneath. When dipped in acid, these lines would be eaten away, creating grooves. The more time the plate spends in the acid, the deeper the lines become, and the darker they will print. This subtractive process, drawing then etching, is a relatively indirect one, but allows for a great deal of control. In this image, you can see the consistent and precise nature of the line work. The image has a graphic quality that is very much of its time; it speaks to an era of burgeoning print culture, where images could be reproduced and widely disseminated. The labor of the artist is present, but also hidden by the very technology that makes the image accessible.