Blackwork Print with Two Small Horizontal Panels Above a Pair of Lunar-Shaped Fillets with Two Motifs at Center 1592

Editor: Right now, we’re looking at a sixteenth-century blackwork print by Hans de Bull from 1592. It’s titled "Blackwork Print with Two Small Horizontal Panels Above a Pair of Lunar-Shaped Fillets with Two Motifs at Center," quite a mouthful. It's intricate and very symmetrical... but almost playfully so? I can’t put my finger on it. What stands out to you? Curator: Oh, this one sings to me! You know, at first glance, it’s easy to see just another ornamental print, and there were so many of them at the time. I mean, what does one *do* with it? Yet, to *feel* its time, think of a craftsman using this! Perhaps, a jeweler wanting a gorgeous pattern, ready to be scaled onto a brooch. Do you see the way the darkness just barely holds its form against the paper? Editor: It’s delicate but bold at the same time, certainly. Curator: Exactly. Imagine transferring this elaborate dance of black ink onto silver or gold! And note the artist, his mark on it, not so subtly included. Each element so lovingly put in place… Almost devotional in execution. It makes you wonder what sort of world, what type of commission this tiny, jewel-like engraving was created for, doesn’t it? Editor: That is intriguing, this piece suddenly feels so personal to the maker. What was a craftsman doing with all these details at the time, though? I never thought about that... Curator: Oh, that is key, to really understand artwork, to let our imagination drift. Editor: That definitely made me look at it differently. Thanks for your insight!