Kroning van Maria 1618 - 1655

Cornelis Schut made this etching, The Coronation of Mary, sometime in the first half of the 17th century. As an etching, the image is made by drawing into a waxy ground on a metal plate, which is then bathed in acid. The incised lines hold ink, and are transferred to paper under pressure, documenting Schut’s draftsmanship. The real subject here is line itself, which creates all the tone and texture. It is important to remember that an etching is a multiple; many impressions can be taken from the plate, and sold widely. The beauty of the etching lies in its reproducibility. The image depicts the Virgin Mary, surrounded by cherubic figures, ascending to heaven. It suggests how the graphic arts, like etching, allowed the Church to disseminate its message widely. Consider the labor that went into this image, the skilled work of both artist and printer, and how this painstaking, repetitive work served a larger ideological purpose.