Beleg van Grol door Frederik Hendrik, 1627 1627

Georg Keller’s “Siege of Grol by Frederick Henry,” made around 1627, is a masterclass in copperplate engraving. It’s a process demanding immense skill, translating an image into a dense network of fine lines incised on a metal plate. Look closely, and you’ll notice how Keller uses these lines to create not just a map-like illustration of the siege, but also a kind of ‘material’ accounting of it. The image is made out of labour, etched into a metal plate, printed on paper. It is one step in the process of production. The armies laying siege to Grol were also instruments of material extraction. The conflict over this city was about commerce and geopolitical power. Notice also how every stroke, every mark, contributes to a gritty realism. Smoke billows from cannons. Soldiers clash. This print invites us to consider the relationship between warfare, the labor of artistic production, and the circulation of images in early modern Europe, making us aware of the often-overlooked connections between art, power, and society.