Procession of draped women leading captives and animals, at left Envy rides a lion, at right Silenus rides a donkey, from a series of twelve frieze-like designs showing bacchanals, sacrifices, and dances 1617 - 1625

This print, by Pierre Brebiette, dating to the early 17th century, is made of etched ink on paper. The etched line is really the star here. To achieve this effect, Brebiette would have covered a copper plate with wax, then scratched away lines with a sharp needle, exposing the metal. The plate was then immersed in acid, which bit into the exposed lines. Once the wax was removed, ink could be applied to the plate, settling into the etched lines, and then transferred to paper under great pressure. Prints such as this one were relatively inexpensive to produce and were often made in multiples, allowing for the wide distribution of images at a time before photography. This speaks to the rise of a market in images, with artists like Brebiette creating luxury goods that could be consumed by a growing middle class. The amount of labor involved in the production of prints has often been overlooked, but is significant in the history of art.