Vuurwerk vanaf de Engelenburcht 1575 - 1613

This print, titled "Fireworks from the Castel Sant'Angelo," was made by an anonymous artist, likely in the 17th or 18th century. It is an engraving, meaning that its image was incised into a metal plate, and then printed onto paper. Consider the labor involved: the careful cutting of lines into the metal, and the printing of the image onto paper, a relatively new material at the time. The image shows a fireworks display over a castle, which could be interpreted as a celebration of power. Fireworks themselves are a potent combination of craft, design, and materiality. Gunpowder, a mix of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate, has to be precisely combined to create a controlled explosion of light and sound. In this print, the artist celebrates not just the spectacle of fireworks, but also the complex processes of production, craftsmanship, and artistry that go into making such a display possible, challenging our assumptions about what is considered fine art.