Jezuïeten en Minderbroeders verlaten Antwerpen, 1578 1578 - 1580

Frans Hogenberg made this print around 1578, using etching and engraving on a copper plate. This was a particularly effective medium for disseminating information in the 16th century, due to its reproducibility and portability. Look closely and you'll see the artist's labor, meticulously rendered through the lines he carved into the metal. These lines create the image, depicting the Jesuit and Franciscan friars leaving Antwerp. The departure, an event of social and religious upheaval, is permanently captured through the incised metal. Consider the context: the print was not merely an artistic expression, but a form of propaganda. Hogenberg used his skills to document and editorialize on the religious conflicts of his time, reaching a wide audience through this relatively inexpensive medium. The physical act of creating the print—biting the plate with acid, inking, and pressing—reflects the intense social and political pressures of the era, using craft as a tool for communication and persuasion. It is a potent reminder of how closely the world of art was intertwined with the world of politics.