St. Francis 1607 - 1617

Willem Pietersz. Buytewech created this print of St. Francis in the early 17th century. It's made using etching, a printmaking process that democratized image production. Think about the artist carefully drawing the image on a metal plate with a needle, then using acid to bite into the metal. This is how the lines were created that hold the ink, and how the image is transferred onto paper. The quality of the line is key to the effect of the print. You can see the controlled burr of the etching needle, a kind of controlled scratch. What's really interesting here is the way the image has been multiplied, and made available for circulation. This speaks to the growing culture of commerce in the Dutch Golden Age. The traditional crafts, like metalworking and papermaking, have been harnessed for the mass production of images. This is a reminder that all art objects are ultimately tied to the material conditions of their making.