Communie van de apostelen 1740

Giovanni Cattini made this print, Communie van de apostelen, sometime in the 1700s. It is an etching, meaning that the artist covered a metal plate with a waxy ground, drew through it with a needle, then bathed the plate in acid. The lines thus bitten into the metal are what hold the ink. The technique is capable of both crisp precision and atmospheric effect. Note how Cattini uses the etched line to describe the play of light across the scene, and to create a sense of depth. The image depicts the moment of communion, with Christ offering bread to the apostles. Though the subject is overtly religious, the method Cattini used to produce it was tied to wider social issues of labor and production. Prints like this one were relatively inexpensive and could be widely disseminated. In his attention to detail and tonal range, Cattini elevates a humble medium to the level of fine art. It reminds us that meaning resides not only in the image, but also in the means of its making.