Hunters Trapping Birds with Nets c. 16th century

Editor: This is Antonio Tempesta’s "Hunters Trapping Birds with Nets". The level of detail in this print is amazing, especially considering the materials. What can you tell me about this work? Curator: Let's consider the copperplate etching process. Tempesta's labor and skill, transferring this hunting scene onto metal, emphasizes the material reality behind idealized pastoral imagery. How might the consumption of such prints reflect social hierarchies of the time? Editor: That’s a great point. I never considered the consumer aspect of the artwork. Curator: The circulation of these prints also reveals a system of production, distribution and the consumption, intertwining art, labor, and social class. Editor: I see. Thinking about the process of making art in the 16th and 17th centuries really changes how I understand the image. Curator: Indeed, analyzing its materiality helps us see beyond the surface.